Alexandria Pices Richardson, book one
by narcissisticSpaghetti
Summary: Alex, daughter of Poseidon, and half-sister to the famous Percy Jackson. Her life and friends, adventures and romances.
1. Prolouge

"Alex!" Mom called from the living room. "Your Aunt Jade sent you another package. Come get it!"

"Hooray!" I exclaimed. I put down the book I was slaving over trying to read. I'm dyslexic and ADHD so it's somewhat hard for me to read anything. Especially since, I was trying to read a young adult novel. Very hard with the smaller font and so many words on one page. If I remember correctly, it was a novel about vampires that a bunch of people were claiming was the best book ever written. I was just curious.

I ran to my door, threw it open, and almost ran over my Mom trying to get to the box in her hands. I should probably explain the significance of this box before I resume my story.

Have you studied your Ancient Greek mythology yet? Well, that is all quite important for many reasons. But right now, the most important piece is family history. For generations, my mother's family has worshiped the god Poseidon, god of the sea, storm bringer and earth shaker. And, for all this time, they have maintained a nearly 100% Greek bloodline.

My aunt Jade, and her twin J.D, have always been the coolest people in the world. Aside from my mom, of course! See, the three of us have this tradition. All three of us have a charm bracelet each, and we often add to each other's. Both of them travel a lot, so they always send the other two of us a souvenir or two and a charm. The only rule is, the charms have to have something to do with the sea.

I hauled the box into the kitchen and set it down on the counter. I pulled open the drawer and took out my bronze letter opener. I ran it under warm water for a minute and then dried it off, before sliding it under the wax seal of a trident and a sword in balance with a stallion head behind them. I like to keep the seals in a collection of mine. And then I hauled the box back to my bedroom.

I pull out the letter and try to read it. Without much luck, might I add?

After a while, I put down the letter and pried open the box with my letter opener. Inside I find two more boxes and a small lavender Chinese coin purse. I picked up the bigger of the two first and cut the tape. I pulled back the cardboard flaps to reveal a small, beautiful Chinese porcelain doll. She was pale-skinned, and she had long, black hair. Big painted green eyes and a small smile stared up at me from her painted container. As I pulled her out of her box, her dress expanded to full size. A long blue-green dress from old England, with foamy white lace bunched at the edges and sleeves.

She was beautiful, and I gasped when I saw her all at once. She even looked a little like me. I smiled and silently promised that I would e-mail aunt Jade that night. And thank her a lot for the doll and whatever else she had sent me. So I peeked into the third box.

Inside, was a large shell. It was beautiful and big. The coloration was amazing, pinks and creams, peaches and ivories, and a touch of orange. I placed it and my new doll on my treasure shelf, where I kept all my special things and treasures. Then I picked up the last thing from the box. The purse.

I knew what was inside of it, I always knew. But it never ceased to take my breath away, this tiny moment of anticipation. I pinched it open and poured the contents onto my bed. Inside, were three metal Chinese coins, and a small charm. For my bracelet. The charm this time was a small silver mermaid with blue enamel and glitter. I placed it next to the three shells, a starfish and a little pink salmon, that was already on my bracelet, and smiled.

I carefully placed the other treasures on my bookshelf of novelties and then patted the doll on the head. I think she was my favorite gift so far.

"What did your aunt send you?" I heard mom call from the kitchen.

"A China doll, that looks like me!" I yelled, "And a blue mermaid!" I danced out of my bedroom and through the living room, into the kitchen again and sat down on one of the little chairs next to the table. "See?" I held the bracelet out so the mermaid was in full view.

"Very pretty!" Mom commented, taking a quick look and then turning back to the salad she was tossing. "Now get ready for school, don't want to be late, do you?"

"No mom." I agreed, and then grabbed my backpack off the coffee table. On my way out the door, I stumbled on a transformers doll and nearly tripped over a plastic light-saber in the short hallway. "Can you get the boys to clean up when they finally wake up?" I called over my shoulder as I hesitated in the doorway.

"Sure, love. See you this afternoon!" She called as I pulled the door shut behind me, and proceeded to get into the elevator.


	2. I join a gang, thanks to Mitch

"Alex!" Mic called from the kitchen. "Breakfast!"

"Just a second!" I called back. "I need a shirt."

I walked to my closet, opened the door, and reached for my favorite t-shirt ever.

It was tie-dye, in five or six different shades of purple and it had a green and blue horse embroidered on the front. I wore it all the time and often several times a week. I took it with me everywhere I went. And in most of the pictures I'm in, I'm wearing it. I love that shirt.

I walk into the living room and drop my backpack on the sofa. Into the kitchen, I went and picked up the plate full of eggs on the counter. I shoveled them into my mouth. I was hungry, not caring that they were still a little hot and they burned my throat.

"Morning!" I called to Mic as I stood and stretched. "Thanks for breakfast!" Mic is a great cook, and a valuable asset to the Venisa family restaurant. That being the name of my grandfather's restaurant. It had been in the family for generations. And the one here in New York, was only an international extension.

"Your welcome." He answered. "Oh, and by the way, your mom is out on an errand. She needed to mail something and I need some more salt. We're out." He smiled warmly. Too bad, he's only my step dad. Mom married him six years ago, when I was ten. Since then, they have given me two little half-brothers to deal with. I don't mind so much, but they can be annoying.

"Okay," I kissed him on the cheek as I passed him. "Thanks for the food. Bye!" I ran into the living room and grabbed my bag. "Bye, Richard!" I ruffled his hair as I passed the couch. He was now sitting there, trying to play a video game before preschool started.

"Bye," he mumbled absently.

"Adios Connor!" I called to the tot who was trying to stay in bed. He didn't answer.

As I got to school, I realized that there were a lot more people than usual. And the streets were clogged with cars, bikes, and whatnot. I remembered that today was the day that that new movie everyone wanted to see. Was playing in theatres. I had plans to see it next weekend, but I still felt like a loser.

I walked up the stairs and into the building and melted into the crowd. Finding anyone in the school took some time, but I was finally able to round up my closest friends.

Finding Katie was hard enough, let alone Mitch and friends. Katie's dad is a lawyer, with a firm called Mathews-Mitchell and associates. They don't come any better. Katie's dad never loses a case. Her mother worked in PR at the same firm, and was also good at her job. Katie's filthy rich, so all of her clothes are prim and proper, but she has a soft spot for eighties fashion. It was Hell trying to find her. In the student body we had, everyone wears bright and sparkly, and so I was distracted a lot.

Kellen was also hard to find, he's always talking to everyone who will listen. He's a nice guy, and I've been crushing on him for years, but he seems to be quite emotionally unavailable. Usually, I just consider him a really good friend. His dad is a scientist, who mostly studies particle physics in a lab halfway across the country, so he never sees him much. His mother's a stay-at-home mom who takes care of him and a little adopted sister who's actually a cousin of his.

I never knew my father. He supposedly left my mom even before she found out she was pregnant with his kid. He never found out I existed. I always thought it would be cool to finally meet him. To see where I came from. I had no idea. But mom usually tells me it's not a good idea to try and look for him, and I respect her enough that I haven't tried yet. I know better than to question her judgment.

When I found Mitch, he had a group of people around him, a few I'd never met before. One was a cousin who looked just like him. He even had the same slight limp, as if they were constantly hiding a lot of pain from the world. I had always dismissed it as an injury in Mitch's legs or some disease in his hips or whatever, but seeing him with his cousin who walked the same way I wondered…

His cousin's name was Ulysses, and aside from him, there were three other kids about our age with him. Their names were Tabatha, Kitty and Seth. And there was another boy, but he looked much older, probably in his twenties or so. He introduced himself as Nico.

Tabatha was cute, short brown hair and big grey eyes. She had the air of a skittish hose about her, though. Wise and powerful, but very antsy, and completely capable of incapacitating you if the need arose.

Kitty was sweet too, though she was probably the shortest of the group. She couldn't have been older than thirteen, and her short deep drown hair cut sharp and short was a bit of a shocker. It made her look much older. Her slanted blue eyes were beautiful, but disconcerting to look at.

Seth was hot, though very much not my type. He was tall, very tall; and strong and athletic-looking, good-looking, well-tanned and slight freckles on his face and shoulders. Short sandy blond hair, parted to the side. He wore a tank top with a picture of the sun with sunglasses and a cheesy grin. It had _'DAD rules' _scrawled across the front.

He grinned at me, and offered his hand as he was introduced. I smiled and shook it. I found a very firm grip and very warm skin. I liked him instantly Okay, maybe he could be my type after all.

All three of them had a leather thong around their neck and all three had a different number of beads on them. The beads were clay, and painted with colors. One that stood out to me in particular was one painted green with a trident carved into it. Only Seth and Tabatha had that one.

After introductions, we made our way through the crowded hall and to our lockers. Mitch, Katie and I, all have lockers nearby each other's. We got all we needed and headed for homeroom together. Kellen has a different homeroom, and his locker is on the other side of school.

On the way through the halls, I was in front of Seth and everyone else was in front of me. The person behind Seth was a girl about fourteen years old. She wore her longish dark brown hair in a bun, a designer shirt, a lipstick color that worked well with her complexion, and an expression that suggested that she had something else she would rather be doing than be at school.

"Excuse me," she asked, all polite and stuff, "Would you be so kind as to explain what the poem of sorts on your back means?" She sounded so formal that I had to stifle a serious giggle fit. Then I realized I didn't know about a poem on his back. I tried to get a peek, fighting giggles the whole time.

What I saw was a small poem, written in Greek-ish style words. I don't remember it now but it was pretty ridicules. Something about a battle and Typhon and half-bloods.

It made no sense to me then, but what really caught my attention was the 'style' of sorts. The quote was written in somewhat modern English, with some older words, but it mentioned New York. And the 'by line' said the quote was "By: Apollo." Yet that would have to have been thousands of years ago for Apollo to have said it. And New York was not that old.

"My dad wrote it." He answered with a grin.

"But, the shirt says it was written by Apollo. Wasn't that a god?" She asked.

"Yeah. His name is Apollo. The Greek god of poetry, medicine, and the sun." his expression suggested a private joke. Kitty snorted and Mitch looked at her confused. Maybe he hadn't heard.

"So what's your father's name?" she pushed.

"Like I said, his name is Apollo. God of the sun."

"Don't you mean 'like'?" put in little Miss Prim-and-proper. "'Like' the god. That's better grammar, right?" He rolled his eyes and turned away.

"No, it's actually very proper grammar." He muttered. He bit his lip, trying not to laugh at her for a few seconds. "Muggles, purebloods, no one understands…" He said this so low, I think I was the only one who heard it. He smiled as he turned back to her. "I'm sorry, was there something you needed?"

"That's quite all right. Never mind." She grabbed a boy's hand and walked away with him in tow. He seemed to be talking to himself and everyone around him at the same time.

Just then, Ulysses came back from the bathroom. He looked all around for Mitch. I waved my hand in the air and jumped, but I couldn't get his attention. "Humph." I complained. "He can't see me."

"Here," Seth offered. "I'll help." His grin made me wary. I consented, and almost wished I hadn't when his grin almost ripped his face in half. Then he picked me up by the waist.

Upside: I got Ulysses attention. Downside, Seth was way too hot to do that. "Put me down!" I protested as he held me up. "I'm serious!" I continued to struggle. 'Not to mention, it looks weird to bystanders,' I added in my head as my face turned bright pink. A gorgeous visitor I had never met picks me up in the middle of the hall. Umm, eek! "Stop it! Put me down!"

He obeyed with a face that made me sorry I had spoiled his fun. I explained how embarrassing that had been and he apologized. I told him he could hug me, but he was not to pick me up until he had my express permission.

He smiled. "Hey that's cool." He said. I realized that he was the first person to accept me as a friend in less than twenty minutes with my black contacts in. most people found them disturbing, and avoided me for a while until they got used to them. That usually took a week or two. Fine by me.

The rest of the day, Seth stayed with me as I went through my classes. Mitch's other friends wandered the halls for most of the day, and Ulysses stayed with Mitch. I had two more classes in the day with Mitch and one of those and two others with Katie.

I thought that day, a lot about my father. I don't know why, it had been a long time. Who was he? Where was he? Did he know I existed now? What would it be like if he was here now? With me at school? What would he say? ...Was he still even alive? I'd never heard much about him, except that I had his eyes and hair. I wondered what else I had from him…

Never expected those answers to come as soon as they did.

That day, after school, I walked home. Katie, Mitch and company tagged along. I don't live very far from the empire state building, and the school is about the same distance from us, in the opposite direction.

Near us is central park, and it's often used for local festivals and parties and such. Soon the city is planning a big Greek festival for a fun thing to do for a weekend. Just Saturday and Sunday.

It was supposed to be big, and the Venisa family was going to have a tent to set up in and sell food from a big trailer. It had the name of the restaurant on the side and the family seal painted in blue, green, black and bronze on the side in big letters and intricate detail.

VENISA GREEK CUISINE

Family owned and operated since 750 AD.

And then the seal on the side, a trident and bronze sword crossed with a horse's head between them. Same symbol as the seal on the letter I received from aunt Jade not long ago. It was the Venisa family seal, and it was proudly painted on every building the family owned.

Of course, it looked awesome but it needed some touching up. Other than that, it was an amazing set-up and things were going well. Still, I felt something else, something not so good. A feeling of foreboding that I didn't like, and I figured no one would like it if I brought it up. I kept my mouth shut.

When we got home, Katie's parents had to stay at work for something. Mic and mom had shifts at Venisa's cuisine. I had the house to myself and friends to hang out with.

"So, for the sake of getting to know you all, Seth, what is your favorite color?" I decided to ask for the fun of it.

He came back immediately with, "Uh, gold." He flushed somewhat and explained. "It's a family favorite, you could say."

"That sounds nice, mine is green." Let's go in a circle so I can keep track. "Tabs?"

"Don't call me that. But good question." She thought for a second. "I don't know. I think I like gray."

"Like your eyes?" I asked. They were a smoky gray and they looked beautiful with her rich dark hair. "By the way, where did you get your eyes from?"

"Pardon me?" she seemed confused by the question.

"Your gray eyes, are they from your mother or your father? I'm asking about your heritage."

She seemed to understand this version of the question better. She smiled. "Yes, like my eyes." She seemed to tense just the slightest bit. Though she relaxed so quickly, I think I may have imagined it. "And my eyes are my mothers, thank you very much."

Ulysses snickered but Tabatha ignored him, getting up and leaving the room.

"She's a little touchy when it comes to her mom. She recently made amends with her for something big. Nevertheless, she still blames her for a lot." Seth explained solemnly. "I haven't known her as long as Ulysses has, but she's a tough one."

"I get it. So, who's your dad? Can you tell me about your parents?" I asked him. I was curious about the scrawl across the front of his shirt that read _Dad rules! _"What does that mean?" I asked, pointing to his shirt.

"Oh, my dad, Apollo. He's awesome." He grinned hugely at me.

"Like, the Greek god of the sun? Are you serious?" he seemed surprised that I took him seriously. And a little too tense at that fact. "That is such a cool name!" I exclaimed. He seemed to relax a bit at the last sentence.

"Yeah, cool." He dismissed it. "So is your dad here?" he asked.

I looked down at my feet. "Mic is at work." I said tensely. "At the family restaurant."

"You call your dad by his name?" he asked. He seemed to be scavenging for info on my family tree. "Or he's not your biological father, is he?" He sounded like he knew exactly what I was going through. He smiled ruefully and put a hand on my shoulder. "I get it. Believe me, I get it."

"How?" I bit my lip. "Explain it to me that you get it. How could you get it?" He scooted closer and tried to look me in the eye by bending over and looking up at me.

"I never found out who my dad was until I was eleven. Even then, I never met him until I was five years older. I have only known him for two years, and I rarely ever see him. Directly, anyways. He's always traveling around the world." He sounded a like he missed his dad more than he let on. "He's so important. I only see him every single day. I just never get to talk to him."

"Hmm," I thought about what he was saying. It made no sense to me. "What do you mean? I don't get it. You rarely ever see him, yet you see him every single day? Is that some sort of riddle? I like riddles." I was thoroughly confused, but it distracted me from the agonizing grief over my own father I hadn't even known was there.

"I wish." He sat down next to me. "He's so famous every person alive has heard of him, in some form or another! He is this amazing important person who everyone loves. And his kids don't even get credit for existing!" he looked and sounded exasperated.

I did not want to piss him off any more than he already was, but my curiosity was piqued. Plus my ADHD's broken filter blurted out the question on my tongue even though I figured I shouldn't. "Who is your dad?" I asked. "Have I heard of him?"

"My father," he hesitated. He looked out the window over my desk. The sun showed through the window, making a big hazy rectangle on my rug. "Time?" he muttered.

"I think it's around four thirty." I answered on instinct. I checked my alarm clock. "Yep, four twenty eight." I looked on the floor and thought about what he had been saying. Things swirled in my mind.

He muttered something about angle and intensity. He came to the conclusion of "It just might work!" of course, I was completely in the dark, but I was certainly interested in what was on his brain.

He stood up and walked to the window. I caught my breath. He was heart-breakingly gorgeous in the sunlight. He was tan and good-looking, and his smile was breath taking. He took a deep breath and nodded. He turned to me and smiled. As he smiled, he seemed to glow with the sun.

"I'll tell you who my dad is," He said, "but only because it's already obvious. Do you remember the stories of the Greek gods? How they want around having affairs with humans, and their kids? How the demigods would often become famous heroes and important people?"

"Like Heracles and Pythagoras?" I put in. Things were making more and less sense by the second.

"Yes. Well, listen up. They're still around. My father is Apollo, god of the sun, archery, fishing, medicine and prophecy. Yes, it sounds silly, but I am not crazy. Look, is this normal?" he motioned at his arm, referring to the fact that he was glowing.

"No," I admitted. "But thinking you might be a demigod is." I laughed at him, and rolled on the floor. I hit the coffee table by accident, and a glass of water spilled on my head. Instantly my head cleared and all thoughts were lost. I stopped laughing. "Cold!" I gasped. "Too cold!" I shivered and shook my head.

He laughed and helped me up. "I'm beginning to suspect you're a clumsy kid." Then he noticed something about my shirt. "Hey, why aren't you wet? You just spilled water on yourself, and you're not wet?"

"I dry off fast. It's natural." I dismissed it and got up. I shook myself off and looked up at Seth. I started to laugh again.

"What?" he demanded. "What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing, but your pick-up lines suck. I don't get that a lot."

He flushed and grunted. "Fine, be that way. You will believe me soon enough." He walked into the kitchen Somehow over the course of the past fifteen minutes, Mitch's friends had all gone in there, and Katie was still in the bathroom doing who knew what. "Tabatha, Kitty, Ulysses, I got a few possibilities. You're not going to like any of them."

"What possibilities?" I asked. "What do you mean?" I headed for the kitchen after Seth, but Mitch put a hand in front of me.

"Maybe you need to let them talk in privacy." He suggested. I grabbed his hand glared at him. He shrank away and let go. I did not go into the kitchen though; I went and sat on the couch instead. I was able to hear them well anyway so I listened to them talk.

What I heard made sense, but only a little. Only through a twisted point of view.

"From what I heard, there are three possibilities, none of them good."

"Well, what are they?" Tabatha prompted.

"You're not going to like them," Seth warned.

"Come on," Ulysses said. "Just tell us."

"Okay," Seth took a deep breath. "What I'm getting is Morpheus, Ha-"

At that point, something loud happened over on the other side of the room and I lost track of what he was saying. I looked over and found that Mitch had accidentally dropped Mic's bowling trophy. It was large and plastic, so it didn't break, but it had some marbles in it so it was loud as it fell.

By the time my ears stopped hurting, Seth was already done talking and Kitty was yelling something about unpleased gods. She sounded terrified.

So maybe they were part of some religious cult or something.

"They are not going to like any of those answers Seth. Are you sure you would classify her as a 'big three' kid or titan? Are you absolutely sure? Titan would be BAD news. They need any excuse they can get to come back."

"I'm pretty cursed sure Wise girl, I mean it. I didn't mean to scare you I am, only a reporter. Besides, I don't think it's the third, her eyes are black, not green."

At that moment, I got angry. I don't know why, but I did. "My eyes are green." I said from the doorway. "I wear contacts. The tint helps me read better. So what are you talking about?"

Their eyes widened and they all stood up straighter. "Oops." Muttered Seth.

"Nothing, we were just talking about our summer camp and how to classify you there. We wanted to take you there and show you the place. It's safer to talk there." Words kept spilling out of Ulysses mouth, half of them made no sense. But that's the closest I can come to remembering what he did say.

"Wouldn't want the Titans finding out, would we?" I glared at them, my best, evil glare. "Tell me everything."

Tabatha sighed. "Well, we were going to tell her eventually. Might as well be now."

Kitty kicked her in the shin. I thought that was cute. "She was going to find out yes, but not now!" she hissed.

Seth pushed past her and stood in front of me. "What did you hear?" he asked.

"Before or after the marbles spilled everywhere?"

He sighed and rubbed his neck in irritation. He looked to the others for support. They folded their arms at the same time. They both wore matching expressions that clearly said, "You're on your own, bright guy. You make the excuse up." Ulysses just looked scared in the corner. What a wimp.

He suddenly got a brilliant idea. "Our basket ball team is playing the Titans from a school in new Hampshire. We hear that they like to send spies to try to get information on a team's usual game plans so they can take them out better. We don't want them to hear anything. Whether it has to do with basketball or not."

"We hear that sometimes they will blackmail players from a team they already beat, with something they pick up on accident. Like if, a guy is dating two girls at once and they don't know it. Or the fact that they do a lot of drugs or diets to stay skinny." Kitty and Tabatha glared daggers at Seth. He shrank.

Seth looked back at the others with a cry for help in his eyes, then he turned to me with a, "Turn around and walk away, now." look. I obeyed.

We sat on the couch and he fed me more lies. I didn't want to burst his bubble, so I pretended to eat them up like a good girl. But I didn't believe him.

In a way, he was telling the truth though. The teams were real, but they weren't basketball teams. I could tell that it was just a metaphor.

That night, everyone left before eight except Katie, who was spending the night.

And she proceeded to giggle over how Cute Ulysses was all night, and bug me about what a cute couple she thought I would make with 'that Seth boy.'

I told her off as nicely as I could, and she never brought it up again.

It was Friday, the last day of school this year. The entire school was buzzing with plans for the summer. Everyone was going to get together with someone. And I was no exception. Katie and I were planning to go to the movies at some time next week. And the three of us, Mitch included, were going to the Greek festival tomorrow, with our teacher and a group of students.

We were planning to meet in the Venisa's tent. I spoke to Mitch at some point that day. He had left his friends at home today; they were off doing something for their "Basketball game." I had mentioned the fact that his friends had creeped me out.

"Sorry," he had said. "They don't mean any harm. They do creep people out sometimes. Especially since they have a habit of getting in trouble in so many different fashions. A few of the others were even blamed for bombing the gateway arch years ago. There's an almost endless accounts of us all getting in trouble." He explained. "But they're good people, really."

"That was him?" I asked. "The guy who jumped off the gateway arch?"

He shook his head. "No, that was Percy. He got in so much trouble back then. He's what, twenty-five? Twenty-six? I lost count…"

"How could he survive a fall like that?"

"Ask him later. We'll introduce you sometime this week." He suggested. "By then you'll be more inclined to believe what we tell you. So if you don't mind, I've invited the gang to come to the festival tomorrow." He threw in with a guilty grin.

"What? You invited them to our CLASS fieldtrip. Now why would you go and do something like that?" I demanded.

"They are all at least half Greek." He explained. "I thought you wouldn't mind. You seemed to get along swimmingly with Seth, I thought I could set you up?" he shrank away from my gaze.

"You think I need setting-up with someone like that whack-job? He tells me he's a demigod, and then goes and sparkles like a twilight vampire? I don't think so."

Suddenly, the bell rang for the next class. "Saved by the bell," he says, and runs off down the hall. "See you later!" he shouts, and disappears into the throng of kids.

I can't say I blame him. There are many kids at our school that would agree to the following statement. "You could be the scariest person in school, if someone gets on your bad side." This being a real quote from a kid a few months ago. And I'm only a sophomore.

I have to admit that I liked the sound of seeing Seth again, but it was weird too. I liked him a lot, but he had made me think twice about him. And the idea of dating him made even less sense, regardless of how cute he was. I just wasn't into crazies. Although I would probably imagine it tonight anyway because it was brought to my attention.

I was still mad at Mitch after school later that day. Especially when we walked out the front door and little gaggle of new friends was standing out front. A few of the high school kids were gawking at them.

We walked up to them and Katie caught up to us. "Hey guys," she called, grabbing my attention. Seth's face lit up as he saw me. My face suddenly got hot and I looked down at my green Converse, biting my lip. Mitch elbowed me and I slapped his arm. Hard.

"Ow," He complained. "What was that for?"

"Mind your own business." I snapped.

We all walked home to my house together. Stopping at Starbucks on the way home.

Seth and I said not a word to each other that day. But he did say 'goodbye' and hand me a small package as he left.

I have to admit, I was tempted to throw it away, but the insatiable curiosity comes with the territory.

The package had a little note that read "I'm sorry, but I'm not crazy." And there was a small piece of chocolate inside, shaped like a little cartoon sun. It was the most delicious chocolate I'd eaten in a long time.


	3. Freak festival

The dream started out familiar, a dream I had had a million times before. It was weird to describe, but right from the start, something was wrong. The perspective was wrong.

_I'm running down the beach, in my swimsuit, a deep blue-green with a low cut back, and a Yin/Yan symbol on the front. Two dolphins, nose to tail around it. A big light sari, deep green, like my eyes, wrapped around my waist._

_ I pass myself, hidden in the shrubs, and run on. I see myself greet Katie and Mitch. There's something slightly off about him. He's in jeans, like always. He never wears anything shorter than baggy boot cuts. I cannot place the rift in normality_

_. "I have only just begun to figure her out sire; I am still far from what you wish for." I protest. "There is almost nothing to go on. She is good at shadowing her emotions from others. I do not know the difference between even anger and pain or shock. Give me more time sir. You are the lord of time, you must have plenty to spare."_

_I melted through the earth and found myself in a vaguely familiar cavern. The walls are black as well as the ceiling. Big stalactites hung from above. The floor was split across the length of the cavern. The hole was seemingly endless. A faint pull came from below._

_"I want you to infiltrate their ranks and find out all you can about the children of my sons. Get to know them, make them trust you. And when you have enough information, save it in one of those things, what was it? A metal box that shows you things. You can talk to it. Do you know?"_

_"A computer sir?" I suggested weakly._

_"A computer that is it. Save it on a computer, and send it to my followers in the Hespereds garden." The voice was a low growl that sounded almost inhuman. And powerful. Old and powerful._

_"But sire? How will I infiltrate them?" I asked through another's mouth. "What if the goat-men sniff me out?"_

_"Deal with them however you need to. My concern is to clear a path for the timed "bomb" I have planted to follow in my footsteps. I will rise eventually, but I want him on a Titan worthy throne by the time I do."_

_"I shall do my best sir," I promised. "I shall make my master proud. I shall do as you ask of me with mind, body, and soul. I swear to you, that I shall help you destroy the girl."_

_"Good, good. Make arrangements for my little bomb to be dropped off within the month. Now be off!"_

"Alex, wake up!" Connor was bouncing on the foot of my bed. "Who were you talking to?" he asked. "Who is your master?" he bounced a couple more times then he got down. I rolled over and rubbed my eyes.

"What time is it?" I asked. I picked up my alarm clock and checked the time. "Oh my god, I'm _late!" _I yelled. I jumped out of bed and pulled on a pair of pants. I ran out of my room in a pair of red jeans and my blue cotton nightshirt.

I stopped in the doorway, puzzled. Mom was pouring a thick liquid into a thermos. Mic was making two turkey sandwiches. "Hey, kid." He called. "You finally up?"

But, if I was late to school, mom would be at collage and Mic would be at Venisa's. They would not be in the kitchen making lunch.

"Hey, good morning Alex," mom smiled. "How are you?"

"Going insane." I answered. I looked down and realized I was still holding my alarm clock. I looked closer. Oh, I switched a number. I was two hours late. If my math was wrong, I was probably just on time. "Am I late?" I asked.

Mom and Mic laughed. Richard looked up from his PSD long enough to give them a questioning look, than he turned to glance at Connor. Connor sat down beside his twin and became engrossed in the game as well.

"No, you're not late. You are going to the Greek festival with your friends. And we are going to work at Venisa's." Mom said cheerfully. "We are making a picnic lunch for later. Family food can get old sometimes."

No, it can't. At least not easily.

"Do you want us to take you to school, or will you meet your class at the park?" mom asked.

"School." I said automatically. "It's at school, we meet in the cafeteria." No I wasn't late, there wasn't school anymore. And I still had some time before the festival. I really had to work on remembering holidays.

"Okay," she said. "I'll drive and we'll drop you off at school."

"Works for me!" I said. "I need to get my toga on anyway, so I'm glad I'm not late."

"Need my help?" mom asked. The toga I had for the festival had always given me a hard time trying to get it on. It was one of those two-person things. One person stands there feeling antsy while the other drapes and ties it so it's not ruined. I nodded and went to get it from the closet.

I walked into the cafeteria and immediately felt over dressed. Almost everyone in the place wore a plain toga. Whether it be plain canvas or an old sheet. The fanciest costumes aside from my own were made of a milky white fabric. It was a luxurious cloth, but the fancy came from the embroidery. One had a silver strip around the bottom and a big silver owl on the front. That was Tabatha's.

Seth wore one with a golden edge and the sun on the front. Grover and Mitch both wore ones with green and brown embroidery. Both had a brown Pan-flute on the front. Both wore jeans under their togas, and sneakers.

Percy's was of a slightly different fabric, almost like the inside of an abalone shell. It shimmered in the light and for some reason, I thought I wanted to go swimming in one just like it. Percy's toga had green waves on the edges and a big trident stitched on the front. His toga had a pocket on his thigh. Hooked over the stitched edge of the pocket, was a bronze pen.

I walked up to them with my hands behind my back, clasped tight. I went to sit on the window edge. The widow has a sill like, two feet deep. Kids like to sit on it or put their stuff there.

I felt like a walking wonder in my fancy toga. Especially the way it showed off my skin in ways, I had never really done before, and I did not feel very good about it.

I pulled my long sea green cloak around me. See, the cloak is velvet and lined in satin. It was a gift to my mother when she was still with my father. It doesn't fit her anymore, so she gave it to me. It has a pearl clasp with silver inlay. And it smelled like the salt-water sea.

They inlay depicted a boat. Supposedly, the one that my father owned before he left her, it was huge.

The toga I wore was one I had had custom made to be comfortable, practical and easy to move in. It was long and silky smooth. It had been made of thin yet strong smooth linen, and it was dyed in the colors of the sea. Teal, blues, greens and whites. The color faded as it got closer to the bottom edge.

The dress was frilled in a fine lace of silk my ya-Ya from Greece had sent to me. The lace was thick, like foam on the surface of the sea, and layered just right it actually looked like foam.

I felt like a big green bear in the middle of a crowd.

"Hi Alex!" Seth said cheerfully. "You look great!"

"That's an understatement!" Katie exclaimed. "You look fabulous! Where did you get that?"

"I don't really know." I answered. "Mom says it was a gift from my father before he went away." I smiled. "The sash was a present from Uncle J.D. a few years back."

"It's beautiful."

"Hate to interrupt your cloths gossip," Grover jutted in. "But I think it's about time to go." He pointed to the teachers up front.

They were reading names off a list and assigning teams. Katie Mitch and I were in the same team, due to some serious finagling.

We were assigned to the same group as Edward Jacobs. The ruling senior king of the school and all-around badass pervert. He had a habit of getting a girlfriend, making out with her a couple times, and then move on to another girl he has been eyeing for a while. He is huge and burly, and his hair short and black and carefully gelled into a mess.

There wasn't a girl in school that hasn't liked him. No girl says no to Edward Jacobs. Ever. Except me. And he's been eyeing my all year.

Truthfully, he's disgusting. He's a jerk, a pervert and he smokes like a maniac. He is mean and nasty, and he has broken half the female hearts in school.

He has a thing for Goth and punk though. And younger girls. Most of his exes had been freshmen and sophomores when he dated them. I was so glad for the summer. I was so hopeful that I would never have to see his big ugly face again. Though rumor had it that he was being held back a second time. I certainly hoped not.

There were forty-eight people, and ten of them were chaperones. There were about five people per counselor. In our group there was one other girl, Miya. Miya had long blond hair and big brown eyes. She was mousy and small. She had little red glasses and a notebook in her arms. A red pencil behind her ear.

We all loaded onto the busses. Twenty four on one, twenty four on the other and two of them on each bus were teachers.

The way to the park was short but noisy. Edward had insisted on sitting next to me, but that spot was quickly filled by someone else. I was grateful until I saw who.

"Mind If I sit here?" He'd asked.

"A lot." I answered, but I hadn't pushed it.

When we got there, kids poured out the door and ran screaming for fresh air. The bus driver hadn't let us open any windows. Seth had waited for me at the door, but so had Edward, and both offered their hands to me as I started to get out. Edward shoved Seth and muttered, "Move aside looser, she's taken." I took Seth's hand as I got out. Edwards face got red, but he never stopped trying. Rent a clue, jerk.

Seth smirked at me, looking quite pleased with himself.

"Don't get any ideas." I'd warned him.

For most of the day, we browsed through the stalls of things. There were booths that sold clothing, booths that sold food, drinks, and booths that sold trinkets of all sorts. There was one, my favorite that sold tiny figurines that looked like the Greek gods and monsters.

Oops, I forgot something. At the front booth, we had traded in all our spending money for drachmas. The class had gotten two hundred copper, one fifty silver, and a hundred gold ones. Each group got an equal amount of each metal.

Edward divided them into five equal groups. Then he inconspicuously made one slightly bigger than the other four. He slid that one toward me and gave the rest to Mitch, Katie and Miya.

"Very smooth." I whispered to Katie and she giggled.

We all traded in our spending money for our own drachmas, which we didn't have to share. I had enough to get ten golden drachmas, twenty silver, and forty coppers.

Mitch's friends already had a load of gold drachmas in small pouches on their belts, though they didn't tell my why no matter how much I begged to know.

Once we got out of the change booth, a man with salt and pepper hair walked up to us. He wore a red jogging suit and messenger bag on his shoulder. He had the kind of face a teacher or HR person would peg as a troublemaker.

"Hello, kids." He said with a grin. "How are all of you doing today?"

"Well thank you." Kitty nodded at him. She had a look that suggested that she liked the guy.

"You know this guy?" I demanded, getting their attention. The strange man looked at me in surprise, and then looked at Mitch. His face was questioning. Mitch nodded.

"My name's Hermes, nice to meet you. I assume this is the Alex I've been hearing about?"

"What brings you here, Hermes?" Mitch asked.

"A friend." He said. He looked back and forth between us a couple of times as he spoke. "He wanted me to give this to you." He held out a large green bag that jingled as it moved. "Drachmas for today. He says get something nice for your cabin, it may need cheering up." He grinned as he held the bag out to me.

"Um, thanks. But I've been told to never take things from strangers." I said, slightly sarcastic. "So no thanks."

"Oh come on, it's just a little spending money, nothing special. And you don't even need to pay anyone back, it's a gift."

"Right."

"It won't bite, I promise. Just buy something nice and possibly colorful." He took my hand and placed the bag on my palm. And then he grinned so wide I thought his face would split in two before walking away and disappearing into the crowd of people surrounding us.

"That was weird." I said.

"Wait, wasn't the Greek god of messengers named Hermes?" Katie asked.

"Yeah," Kitty piped up. "Hermes. The Greek god of messengers, doctors, and thieves. All those who use the roads. And he's a great guy for the job." Ulysses elbowed him. "Oh, oops." She smiled.

"Care to explain now?" I asked of Mitch.

"No." he replied. "Not here. Not now."

"Okay, then I'll just go back to mom." I said. And headed for the pavilion my grandfather's restaurant was under. "Coming?" I asked.

We all went to the pavilion and got something to eat for two silver drachmas each,

After we were all full, I went to say hi to mom. I opened the door to the trailer they were serving out of.

"Wait," said Edward. "Where are you going? You're not supposed to be in there. That's illegal!"

"No it's not, not when my grandfather owns the place. And my mom's in there. I'm going to say hi." I explained. His face turned red and he apologized. I went into the busy trailer.

"Hi Alex, how are you?" asked Mic from the stove. He was pulling flat bread out of the oven and pouring olive oil over it. He handed it to mom. She sprinkled it with olives and feta, and gave it to a customer along with a soda and took three silver drachmas in return.

"Hey baby," she called. "Our shift is almost up so we can talk in a moment."

When they got out, we went to sit at an empty eight-person bench. Mom, Mic, Miya, Connor and Richard, and Mitch were all on the bench. Connor Richard each had a Nintendo and they were playing some joint-game against each other.

Tabatha and Kitty were looking at a Greek book on architecture and were talking about it in low voices. Mitch and Katie were messing with a pair of little plastic Greek statues. He had a satyr with a pan-flute around his neck. She had a small Aphrodite in her hand and was pretending to woo Mitch's satyr doll into kissing her. She succeeded and laughed at Mitch's blush.

Edward and Seth had both wanted to make it seem to my parents that they were my boyfriend and that I was with them for a reason other than coincidence. So when I started to get up, they both offered their hands to help me up. I ignored them both and got up on my own. But as we left the pavilion to look at other stuff, I was closer to Seth than Edward. Accidentally, I touched Seth's arm. He grabbed my hand.

We went back to the place with the small statues of the Greek characters Katie and Mitch had been holding. I bought a set of the twelve Olympians plus Hestia and Hades. I spent fourteen silver drachmas on them, and had a little left over.

With two golds and a silver drachma, I got six charms. Three silver conch shells and three tiny green and blue enamel mermaids with long dark hair. I was planning to send four of them away to Jade and J.D, but that would have to wait for a while.

I was about ready to leave the festival and head home, when something caught my eye.

It was a big, beautiful blue and green silk blanket, with silver embroidery around the edges. The blanket was large, and seemed to be filled with the softest material known to man. It was beautiful, and I wanted it, and it was seven gold coins, but I seemed to be broke.

"Darn, it's beautiful, but I don't have nearly enough!" Katie said sadly. 'I'd love to help you out."

"Why don't you use what Hermes gave you?" Seth suggested. "It can't hurt to check."

I thought about it, but I didn't like the idea.

But I really wanted that blanket, it was exactly what I'd been looking for for years, something soft, beautiful, warm, and not irritatingly itchy. Yeah, I'm a little picky when it comes to bedding, so what?

So I pulled out the small green bag and looked inside.

At least forty gold coins jingled against each other inside the pack.

I bought the blanket, and wrapped my previous spoils in it.

A large, colorful pavilion with a big sign on the front was just sitting there, next to the change pavilion as we were heading back. I didn't remember noticing it before.

The sign looked to me like total gibberish because of my dyslexia, so I pointed it out to Seth. He just stared at me like I was crazy. Then I pulled Mitch out of a fascinating conversation with Katie to read it for me.

"EDDIE'S LIFE-LIKE STATUES FROM AROUND THE WORLD?" he asked. "You want to go in there?" he looked incredulous. I just nodded and walked inside.

"Come back when you're done at the other place, I forget what it's called." I called to him. I let the flap fall over the entrance behind me.

I gasped as the contents of the pavilion registered. There were statues of people and… things. I have no other way to describe them. There were satyrs and monsters and, well, fairies or something. All sorts of magical creatures, and all sorts of people from every time period in western civilization. Greeks, Romans, English, etc. There was a beautiful piece in the middle of the place. A man and a woman, arms locked around each other for eternity. Their eyes were wide though, with fear. Not love or even adoration. The piece held a certain kind of terrifying beauty, and it put me on edge as I realized most of the things in the pavilion held the same expression.

A huge piece in the corner depicted four ugly men, playing poker. I went closer and read the tag. I could not read it worth a darn. The writing was in cursive, so it was twice as hard. I turned it over and gasped. The writing was familiar and beautifully printed. It was in Greek. I don't know why, but Greek always seems to make sense to me.

The tag read: _The Poker player, By Sally Jackson. Sally Jackson, created this Piece simply for recreation, yet it was so realistically detailed, that it quickly sold. The buyer, waited eagerly for another specimen of her fine "Super ugly non- realism." But she has decided to do something else with her life. This piece has been estimated at around $10, 700 on June…"_ blah blah blah. The rest was boring old stuff. I dropped the tag.

I glanced at one of the men, and then looked again. Hadn't I seen him on TV somewhere? He looked familiar. Maybe she had modeled him off some movie star. Figures.

I moved around the table and looked at it from that perspective for a while. When I looked up, I started. There was a tall man with a briefcase and an expensive looking silk Italian suit. He was staring at me. It almost looked like his eyes were black.

"Oh, you scared me." I said. "You snuck up on me. I didn't hear the flap swing closed." I smiled and focused on trying to identify the stone man.

After a while, I gave up and stood. The lawyer dude was still staring at me. Like he'd just been handed a winning lottery ticket. "I have found you." He announced. He sounded pleased at this fact. "We had heard talk of your existence, but we thought it was lies. We thought you're the other one was the only one. Now two. I shall bring you before the master and see how he decides to punish you for your existence. He shall be upset to find you have betrayed his trust, after so long."

As he walked towards me, my eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. His body shriveled into a weird bird like one, with giant leather wings. His arms and legs got longer, and bent backward. His suit disappeared. In its place, was a few grimy rags and, rope? His fingers and toes lengthened into talons that looked as if they hadn't been clipped in four thousand years at least. His face morphed into that of a hag. It looked about as ugly as anything I had ever seen.

I couldn't help it. I screamed. I have a very shrill scream; it can do a lot of damage to anyone's ears. It can also get a lot of attention.

In through the door, burst Tabatha, with Kitty at her heels. Mitch and Seth followed close behind. Edward ran in soon as well as Miya and a handful of nearby people. Seth looked at the thing and his eyes widened. He whispered something to Tabatha and she shrugged. Kitty pulled out a cell phone and hit a speed dial number, putting it to her ear. She left the pavilion quickly and took with her at least four confused bystanders.

"Hey, Ugly!" Mitch shouted. The leather bird-hag turned around. It shrieked a painful shriek and swung a handful of talons at him. He sidestepped. "You're going to have to do better that that! Did you know we've got Percy with us? Yeah, remember him? You get dusted every time!"

"I remember, all too well." The thing hissed. "So my plan was to rough up the little one and take her to my master, just to mess with him." And then it turned its wrinkled, grimy head to me, it sunken eyes seemed to radiate hatred.

The whole time this was going on, Tabatha and Mitch were pushing people out of the Pavilion and keeping them out there.

"Careful, don't swing that thing around in here. You might destroy some of auntie M's precious statues. She'd never forgive you." Came a taunting voice from the entrance to the pavilion.

The creature shrieked, and turned toward the voice. "You!" it screamed.

"Me." A tall young man stood in the doorway, I don't know how old he was but he looked about thirty. I watched in confusion at the apparent unfriendly familiarity displayed on both of their faces. As I watched, I was vaguely aware of Mitch pulling me towards the back exit of the tent, but my legs refused to work so I was no help.

It screamed in anger, lashing out with it's talons and, if possible, sending even more hatred towards the tall man.

"Do I have to dust you again, Electo? Haven't I done that enough times?"

"Twice, and that's more than enough." The thing growled. "Few warriors have ever bested me once, you have done it twice. This time I shall have my revenge."

"You sure it was two? I could have sworn there was one more time… You sure you remember correctly?" He winked at me, a small signal, which let me and Mitch know he was only trying to buy us the time to get away.

Whatever it was snarled at him. "I remember, Perseus Jackson. But this time, I shall win!" it pulled out a long, fiery whip, and lashed it at him. It missed by inches. He didn't seem fazed at all. He seemed almost smug about it.

"Don't you remember you stupid old bird? I'm invincible. You remember the Styx?" Percy shouted. The leather bird screamed. "Ha! You do remember! Now remember this," he swung the sword and the monster backed up a step. "This time will be different! But it's not your turn to win." He sliced at the thing and got a good-sized chunk of flesh. "It won't be me that kills you," he tossed the sword to me, bringing me into the glare of the things fury once again. "It will be _her!_"

"What?" I protested. "What do you mean?" but I caught the sword mid-air. It felt good in my hands. Well balanced and cool to the touch. It was made of bronze, or something remarkably like it. As soon as it was in my hand, I knew what to do.

I don't remember exactly what happened next, just that I attacked. I cut through the monster with ease and she turned to yellow dust. It smelled like sulfur. As she dissipated, she left behind a metallic screech, and a stinging pain in my arm. The screech echoed in the pavilion for a few seconds until it faded, along with the last of the dust. All that was left behind was a big, black marble eye. It looked like it was still staring at me. It gave me the wigs. I soo didn't want to touch it. He did instead.

"Wow!" Percy said. "That was amazing! Almost as good as my first time. And the same one two!" he praised me. "Good work." He walked over to me, and pulled a pen cap from his pocket. He touched it to the tip of the sword he'd tossed me, and it shrank into a pen. He slipped it into his pocket.

I stared at him. "That was soo not funny." I complained. "How did you get that monster to look so real? And how did you make it disappear so fast? And who are you?"

"That, was not fake." He said. He looked like he meant it. "That was a Fury. Or a kindly one. One of Hades' torturers. Not a pleasant breed of monster. Anyway, it helps to be invincible." He straightened his toga and looked over my shoulder. He made a face. "Never expected _that_ to be here." He mumbled.

I turned. He was looking at _The Poker player_, and he looked pleased at something.

I was confused. "You know this piece?" I asked. "How?"

He grinned. "My mom made it. With one of my monster trophies. That used to be my stepdad, Gabe Ugliano. She turned him and his ugly buddies into this statue at the table about five years ago."

So that's why he looked familiar. Gabe Ugliano had been on TV for the disappearance of his stepson. The kid that had gone across the county wreaking havoc and doing all sorts of things, trying to get away from his kidnapper. "So the cross country-maniac was you?" I asked in disbelief. "Percy Jackson, the infamous freak-streak across America all those years ago?"

"In the flesh." He said. "And the kidnapper part, that's a stretch. He wasn't a kidnapper. We met in the diner near the water park in Denver. He was harassing us though. Aries has never been my favorite. And Hermes, the man you met near the change pavilion, was in fact the god of messengers etc. You catch my drift?"

I just stared at him as he explained all this to me. I mean, when Seth had said he was the son of Apollo, I thought he was crazy. Now here was Percy, telling me a whole lot more than Seth had, and I believed him. I mean, how weird can you get?

"Are you okay?" he asked. "You don't look so good. Did I overload you?"

"Yes, you did." I sat down on the nearest statue. It depicted a big scary wolf-like creature. It was lying down, and its haunch made a nice place to sit. I contemplated everything I had learned about this and berated myself for not thinking it through before.

Percy took a few steps toward me and helped me up. When he pulled his hand away, his hand had blood on it. "Oh, no." he whispered. "She got you. That's not good."

He was right. My arm was stinging and starting to go numb. The blood felt warm on my arm, and the color made me dizzy. I faltered, but he caught me. "Seth!" he called, "Get in here!"

"Ow." I muttered. "Just get me to the water fountain outside. Help me clean it out."

He looked surprised at this, and then a calculating look spread across his face. "That just might work." He mused. He pulled me out into the light. Many people gasped at the amount of blood coming out of my arm. Seth came running up with what looked like a first-aid kit in hand, and an opaque canteen in the other.

"I'm here!" Seth said as he knelt beside me on the grass near the fountain. "I have some nectar. Just in case." He opened the canteen and offered it to me, but before I could take it, Percy picked me up and stuck my feet in the water. Instantly, I felt better.

"What are you doing?" demanded Seth. "You shouldn't pick her up! It might hurt her even more! I-" he broke off.

"Proving my suspicion." Percy said.

The water seemed to move up my legs, giving me strength. I felt better, my head cleared, and I watched as the water moved up my thigh and side, covering my body in a second skin of water. It crawled down my arm and the gash began to heal. The blood seemed to hurry to get back into the wound. The gash stitched itself together and turned into a scar, which was quickly fading. As soon as the wound was healed, the water fell off me, back into the fountain, leaving me completely dry.

"Interesting," Percy murmured. "He _wasn't_ kidding."

"That was not normal, what happened?" I turned to Percy. "Did you do that?"

"No, I think you did that." He frowned. "I was right. That's not good. Worse than me."

"No, it's not. How are we going to explain this to your father? Let alone your uncles! Or even the whole family? How much trouble are we in now?" Tabatha complained.

"And you are right, worse than even you. Did your father even know?" Kitty asked.

My only response to the situation that I could say was: "Can I have something to drink?"

Seth obliged with a kind smile, but it was tight. He was thinking, hard. I took a sip from the canteen he handed me and listened to the fountain splashing. Whatever it was it tasted like Chai tea, made just the way I like it with extra cinnamon and a hint of red chili. I tried to drown out the conversation going on behind me without much luck.

Edward came running up with Miya on his heels. She may be frail looking, but she can _run_.

"Oh, my gosh Alex!" Edward said. "How are you? Are you okay? Why are you in the water?"

I looked at him and I felt strong. I decided to get him off my backside once and for all. I splashed him in the face with a column of water. I didn't even have to move my hand or anything. I just felt a tug in my gut and up it came. "You are nothing to me, not even a friend. So back, off. It's none of your business."

He looked astounded. His face was dripping wet. "How did you do that?" he wiped at his face, spluttering.

"I said, none of your business!" I yelled. The fountain cracked, and the water, all of it, came rushing at him. It pushed him away and left him sprawled on the now muddy grass. His face was a totally confused one. I got up, a little shocked but he sure deserved it. "Let's go. I want to get out of here." I said to Mitch and Seth. I walked away from the fountain, the festival, Edward, and the crowd of gawking bystanders. I had never felt more satisfied.

As we walked away, I turned to Percy and asked "Where to?"

"Our summer camp." He announced. "I think we need to talk to Chiron."

I nodded and walked with him and the others. I didn't even know what he was talking about, but I never looked back. Not even once.


	4. I beat a god at Pinochle

As soon as we were out of the park, Percy took a turn towards a taxi station. We filed into the small building and Percy walked up to the desk. "When is the next taxi due to stop by?" he asked the woman behind it.

"In about twenty minutes, unless you wanna call them in sooner." She told him. "Where you planning on going?" She was short and stalky, and her make-up was piled on in big, ugly globs. Her nose was turned up, and she looked like the type that likes to know your business.

"A strawberry farm on long island." He answered. "Our summer camp is there."

"Oh, campers." She said. "Where's your stuff?"

"Stuff?" I muttered. "Oh yeah, how long are we going to be there?"

"Um, if all goes according to plan, the rest of the summer." He informed me.

"Than I will need to talk to my mother and pack some stuff first."

"Well Percy," Seth said, "Do we let her get her stuff, or do we go?"

He sighed. "Do you need your stuff?" he asked me.

"I need another shirt and my toothbrush." I answered. "But I don't need much else."

"Okay, let's go." He said. We all filed out of the little building, and walked back to my place. I went into my room and grabbed a handful of my favorite shirts, three pairs of jeans, underwear to last a month or so, and my toiletries bag. When I had all that, I grabbed my favorite pillow, two blankets, and my only two stuffies from my bed. One, a soft white bunny my friend Jack had given me for my fourth birthday. And the other, a golden Pegasus my Ya-Ya had sent me when I was only one. And I decided to bring the china doll Jade has sent me, and I packed everything in my black suitcase.

I also stuffed them a few of my favorite books and reading equipment. Four boxes of black contacts for help reading went in too. I threw in a box of liquor cherries mom had gotten me, and a small black and green ball. I also brought my new collection of Greek gods. They had come in a big free box that held all of them in small holes the size of toilet paper roll inserts.

I walked out of my room with all I needed. It wasn't a too heavy load.

"Is that it?" asked Seth. I nodded. "Then let me help." He took the box from my hand and weighed it in his hand, and then peeked inside. "I can't see anything." He said. "What's in here?"

"Stuff." I said. I closed it on his finger. He bleated like a startled goat. This took me by surprise and I looked at him with a raised eyebrow as someone behind me chuckled. He realized some mistake and he covered his mouth in horror. I just looked at him funny.

He grinned forcedly and walked away. I dropped my eyebrow, and decided to ignore what had just happened. When we walked out the door, I left a note for mom saying, _'Gone to camp with Mitch and friends. I will be okay. I'll call you. –Alex.'_

"Why leave a note?" Grover asked.

"So she doesn't freak when she doesn't find me." I explained.

"Oh." He read it through. "Oh, and you won't be able to call her. It's like sending up a flare to the monsters around you. Like shouting 'Here I am! Come eat me!'" he said.

"So I'll text her. I don't know. I'll find some way to contact her." I said. "Let's go." As we left, I had a strong feeling that I would not get to see my home for a long time. A very long time. I turned and bid the apartment goodbye.

"Hello?" I called to Percy. "What do you think you're doing? We are so not going to all fit in there. You've got to be crazy."

"Maybe I am." He retorted. "But at least I am trying to get us all there together. And safe. Don't forget safe."

"You're impossible!" I shouted, throwing my arms into the air and turning to walk away.

"They fight like siblings." Mitch muttered to Ulysses. "And they barely know each other. How funny is that?"

"Do you think they are?" Ulysses muttered back.

"Entirely possible,"

I was suddenly in their face. "Say what?" I asked sweetly. Mitch's eyes got wide. His pupils went slit, like a terrified goat. My gaze did not falter. He shrank back a little. He knew better than to say anything when I was like this. Even slightly stressed, I get terrifying.

I walked away from them. I was looking at the ground, thinking about how to get six people into one taxi. I was having no luck when I bumped into Seth, coming back from the vending machines. He had a big backpack filled with junk food and stuff to drink.

"Hi." He said. "What's up?"

"Nothing now." I said. "Percy and I just aren't getting along so very well right now."

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"We're just not agreeing on transportation."

"Oh," he said. "You see, he can be very stubborn."

"Oh, right, like I didn't notice." I snapped. I know it was a little over-dramatic of me, but the entire situation was just beginning to get incredibly nerve grating!

He looked hurt, and I instantly felt bad for what I had just said. "Look, I'm sorry. I have a tendency to overreact when I'm upset."

"It's alright. Sorry for pissing you off even more." He looked away and walked back to the group. I followed, dragging my feet. Why am I so bad at interaction with people when I'm stressed? All I do is freak people out or make them mad at me!

"I got it!" Mitch yelled. "We take two taxis!" we all looked at him as if he was crazy. "If we take two taxis, three in one, four in the other, then we will make it there safely. And there will be enough of us in each car, that if there is a problem, or we are split up, we will be okay."

I thought this over. It sounded like a good idea.

"That's a great idea, Mitch." Kitty said.

We divided into two groups. Kitty, Tabatha and Mitch in one car, and Seth, Ulysses, Percy and I in the other. We waited for another taxi to show up, which was not long, and each group got into one of them.

While we were driving, all three boys talked to me about the camp. From what I heard, it sounded like great fun. Percy talked about rock climbing walls, and how they would clash together or squirt lava if you were not fast enough.

Seth talked about the capture the flag games on Fridays, and how, ever since Percy came, they had only lost a game twice out of all the many times they had played.

Ulysses got excited talking about the fun one could have in the woods on the property, and the mystical creatures that lived there. I was still skeptical of many of the things they talked about, but I didn't argue.

I was excited to be going there. But something was off. I never found out what. The whole way there, I held in my hands, the figurine of Poseidon. Don't know why, it was just a comfort.

As we got out of the taxi, I didn't see much beside a giant hill with a tree on it. The tree was a huge pine, with bright green branches and something glittered in the branches. What lay underneath the tree looked at first to be a huge dog/lizard. That theory was not a very good one, but it was the best one I had.

"Where's the camp?" the huge ugly taxi driver asked in a husky, low voice. I had not paid him much attention as we were driving. Now that we were stopped, I looked him over.

He was big and ugly, his face looked mashed and his nose was bulbous. His beady brown eyes made me shiver. He was covered in tattoos and piercings. He had around his neck, a steel chain with a small locket. It had the name _Clara _written in plain print. It still took a few seconds to read.

I realized he had a big red heart on his shoulder. It had _Mom_ on it like so many big scary-looking people in movies and stuff. He caught me looking and winked. I tried hiding my gagging by turning around. I think it worked. I cannot be sure.

"Just on the other side of that hill." Seth informed the driver and me. "Thanks." He took a step.

"Hey, wait just a minute; you owe me ten dollars and forty two cents! Come back and pay." Called the driver.

"Oh, oops." Seth turned back around and pulled a twenty out of his pocket. The driver pulled out a calculator and did some equation. He gave us back our change.

I picked a ten and a one out of my wallet and ran to the other taxi, which pulled in at just that moment. I dumped the money on the shotgun seat. The driver looked startled, but she dutifully picked it up and counted it out. She thanked me and pushed a few buttons on the control machine she had. And then she drove away. The other driver pulled out behind her and followed.

As we walked up the hill, I put Poseidon back in the box and looked closer at the guard dog. I gasped, as we got closer. It was not a dog, it was a dragon. A living, breathing dragon. The dragon shifted as we walked by, and raised its head. It snorted, and smoke billowed lazily from his nostrils.

I tugged Percy's shirtsleeve and pointed at it. "Oh, him?" he asked. "He doesn't bite unless you try to grab the fleece. That's the only reason he's here. Come on, I got to show you the big house."

We walked down the hill and I looked around the valley. The place was definitely not a normal summer camp. For one thing, the buildings were all Greek style, with columns and paintings of all sorts.

The "big house," was a large whitewashed mansion with a big blue roof. On the top was a big bronze wind thingy. I never can remember what their called. Nestled between the woods that seemed to go on for miles, and the large lake that glittered with a clear reflection of the sky, was the craziest assortment of cabins EVER.

One was large and looked like a factory. It had smokestacks like one too. Another had pink walls and red and white hearts painted everywhere. Still another had deep gray walls and an angry frown painted above the door. The two that caught my attention though, were the two that scared me most. The first, really scared me, but the other, filled me with a sense of power I couldn't place. I thought it was a little too weird.

The first was a black marble mausoleum, with bronze inlay and built powerfully, like a palace. It filled me with a sense of dread.

The second was built low and long. It looked like it was made of mother of pearl and some basalt. The walls seemed to glow with power, and It smelled like an ocean breeze. And it felt like home. Not the apartment home, but like I belonged there.

The buildings were all different, and some of them seemed like they wanted to scoot away from each other. I don't know how else to describe it. They just had the such potent polarities.

In the center of the first rectangle of cabins, was a blazing fire, with a girl around fifteen tending the flames. She was showing a girl who looked around ten how to do it right. I stopped to say "Hello." She smiled at me and the smaller girl followed her example.

"Hello, Alex." The older girl said. "Welcome to camp half-blood." I bowed slightly but I didn't know why. I also didn't think about how she knew my name until later.

The dining pavilion was a large room, without walls or a ceiling, or any backup cover. Like a giant tarp or something. When I asked Seth about it, he looked at me with a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "It doesn't rain here unless we want it to. So we don't need any roof." This was confusing, but I let it pass.

When we were done with the quick-tour, Seth and Tabatha had to go do something, and Kitty left in the direction of the lake. Percy, Mitch and Ulysses were the only ones with me as I walked into the big house.

I don't know what I was expecting, but I certainly did not expect to see the men I saw at the table. I was surprised at least.

The first man was short and pudgy, with blotches on his face. He looked like a man who had gotten drunk too many times for it to be good for him. But it hadn't affected him enough to teach him the lesson he so needed.

He wore a leopard-skin Hawaiian shirt, and long purple jogging sweats with a white streak down one side. The other man was in a wheelchair. He wore a long tweed jacket and a cotton shirt underneath. He definitely reminded me of Giles, Buffy the vampire slayer's watcher. Only he looked to have seen more in his life than Giles ever had in his whole career. He had a thick afghan over his legs.

"Why hello Percy! I see you have brought the half-blood you were sent to get. Good work." He turned to me with a warm smile and a calculating look. "Hello." He greeted me. "And what would your name be?"

"Alex." I told him. "Short for Alexandria."

He looked me over for a few seconds and then turned to Percy. "Any hints?" he asked.

"Very strong ones." Percy replied. "She is, almost without a doubt, Poseidon's." I looked up at him, confused.

"Hmm," He rubbed his chin. Then he started to get up. "My name is Chiron, child. Trainer of heroes and camp activities director here at camp half-blood." As he got up, his legs stayed on the chair. The afghan fell off, revealing white fur. Chiron stood up and stretched out his four beautiful white legs. His entire body from the waist down was that of a white stallion. I gawked in astonishment.

"You're a centaur." I observed. "A white one. Wow. OMG, if I told my Ya-Ya bout you, she would so want to meet you! That is so cool!" I was amazed at the man who stood seven or so feet tall, with a tail and four graceful legs. It was certainly more real than anything else I'd been shown.

Chiron sniffed. "She seems well enough informed already. Let's skip the introduction video this time." He smiled at me and waved at the valley. "Well, what do you think of camp half-blood?"

It all hit me hard just then. I couldn't play dumb for myself any longer. "Half-blood? Chiron? . . . The trainer of heroes? Like, Heracles and Perseus? Or, or Odysseus? Seriously?"

He seemed taken aback. "Why yes. I suppose I am." He seemed intrigued at something I had said.

"So – very – awesome!" I said, gazing up at him. "Are you playing pinochle? I'm pretty good at it. We play every Friday in my Latin class."

"Finally!" exclaimed the chubby-ish man in a leopard skin shirt. "A sensible girl that knows pinochle. Come, join us. Let's see if you are any good." He waved his hand, and a chair pulled out on its own.

"Who are you?" I asked him as I sat down; curious at how he had made the chair scoot out.

He smiled and I disliked him immediately. The smile was forced. I got the feeling that smiles were few, and far between on his face. At least genuine ones. "My name is Mr. D.," he stated, as though it was obvious. "That is all you need to know for now." He pulled all the cards together and shuffled. He dealt and motioned for Chiron to go first.

"Shouldn't we let the new player go first? She is of course, the one to your immediate left." He pointed out.

Mr. D looked at me. "I don't see why not. You start us off then Allie. Then Chiron."

"Alex." I corrected. "Not Allie. I hate it when people call me Allie."

"Yes, yes." Mr. D waved his hand. "Just bet and be done with it." I played, and turned to Chiron.

"Interesting move, I never thought of that strategy." We played a heated game, most of it in silence. Sometimes Mr. D would sniffle, or Chiron would shift his haunches, making the floor creak. Or we would hear campers in the valley yell or scream in fun, but other than that, it was deadly quiet. The other boys stood nearby, feeling very awkward, I'm sure.

After about forty-five minutes of playing, Mr. D laid down his cards. "Ha! I beat you, you horse!" He shouted in triumph. "After so many losses, there were only two ways to beat me! And the odds are a thousand-to-one!"

"Actually, I win." Chiron yawned. His hand beat Mr. D's hand by a lot. "Yet again, you are wrong."

Mr. D stared at Chiron in hatred. He cursed quietly and grumbled.

Silently, I set my hand down on the table.

My hand beat the snot out of both of theirs. By a long shot. Mr. D stared in amazement at the cards I had just put down; his eye seemed to bulge out of its sockets. "By the rest of the Olympian council, she's won!" he boomed. The room seemed to shake with the force of his laughing. "I like you!" he told me, he patted me on the shoulder. "That, was some of the best pinochle play I have seen in hundreds of years."

Chiron looked in amazement at the cards that had made me the new favorite camper. He muttered something about a ruined reputation. Percy, Ulysses and Mitch seemed to be very surprised, a priceless look was spread across each of their faces.

As we walked down the hill, Mr. D insisted on keeping his arm around my shoulders. He had a huge, proud grin on his face; as if he had been the one that taught me the game, and instructed me on how to win against a master. Like I was his star pupil. I got the feeling that if that had been the case, I would have had the lowest score on the table.

He never let go my shoulders as we all walked to the volleyball court. When we passed, kids dropped what they were doing and gawked. Some even rubbed their eyes. Their expressions clearly stated that they had never, ever seen Mr. D in a good mood. I was a rarity. As we passed, I shrugged and tried not to be too slow.

He showed me the dining pavilion again, the giant white columned structure with a small kitchen attached to the side. There were the same amount of tables as cabins; they dotted the hills surrounding us as well as the interior of the pavilion.

He explained in a light tone, how the wood nymphs and dryads came out of the forest to serve food to the campers and directors.

He showed me the cabins again, and he snapped his fingers. My backpack and wooden box appeared on the grass. "Make yourself at home." He said, gesturing to cabin eleven. The cabin was the only one that looked like a regular old camp cabin. Emphasis on _old._ "Hermes takes all newcomers until you're decided of course." I went into the cabin.

There were six bunks, all of them occupied. There were also three sleeping bags on the floor. Nine or so kids looked at me with eager eyes. They all had the long nose and turned up eyes that teachers often are right to peg as troublemakers. They appraised me with such attention that I shuffled uncomfortably. Each and every single one of them reminded me of the man we'd met at the change pavilion earlier.

One guy, maybe in his twenties, walked up to me. He was tall, muscular and had that fire in his eyes I rarely saw in any one. His hair was dark brown, and cropped short. He wore khakis and a bright orange 'CAMP HALF-BLOOD' shirt. He introduced himself as Travis Stoll, son of Hermes. And the senior counselor for the cabin. I introduced myself to him and sat down on the floor. I had only a smallish suitcase and a box. So I stuffed them in the corner.

"Here," Travis said. "I got you a sleeping bag. It's blue, but I didn't think you'd mind." He handed it to me.

"Thanks, that was sweet." His cheeks turned a little redder, but I only smiled and laid out the sleeping bag in the floor. I smoothed it out and stretched out on it. It was a little rough, and it wasn't nylon. It was cloth. Like, bunches into little sticky fuzz balls cloth. But it wasn't dirty. It smelled like pine.

Mr. D left soon after I was introduced, walking away with a swelled chest and mumbling to himself about 'finally someone beat that silly horse,' I was introduced to the cabin. One by one, they announced their name. 'Daughter/Son of Hermes' followed each statement.

At around four, a conch horn sounded. I knew it was a conch for two reasons. One, I had heard them before in Greece, visiting my grandparents. And two, I just knew. Who knows how? I don't know.

"Hermes, fall in!" called Travis.

We lined up in order of seniority, so I was the last in line, but I didn't mind. In front of me, was a young girl about fourteen. Her name, I remembered, was Helen. She had long black hair in a braid down her back. It reached her thighs when she stood. She wore a plain white t-shirt, and blue jeans. Her face had a light dusting of pink blush and blue eye shadow, but her lashes were thick enough that she had skipped mascara. See, the thing I have about make-up, is that it only makes you look vain wearing it. Despite the fact that I wear eyeliner every day, I just think it looks like you are trying too hard to look better than you are. I also thought beauty was a mental thing. If you were mean, you were ugly; and if you were kind, you were beautiful. No matter what color your eyes were compared to your hair; or how long your hair was. And especially not how much make-up you can glop onto your face. I wear eyeliner to bring out my eyes. They are one of my better qualities mom says I inherited from my father. Not to look better or worse, just to make them noticeable.

Helen was a good full foot shorter that I was, but her presence was almost as big. If she looked you in the eye, you felt her looking into your soul. It was a creepy/cool feeling. I thought it was just awesome how she made people shiver, just by looking at her. As we walked, she suddenly turned and walked backwards. "Hey, Alex," she looked up at me, "What did you have in that box?"

It was creepy, having her look at me like that. But I felt compelled to answer. Like she was reaching into my consciousness and pulling it out of my memory like a marble, instead of an untouchable thought in my mind. There was no way she was a child of Hermes. "Figurines, of the Olympians. Plus Hades and Hestia." I told her. I figured we were going to get along swimmingly.

She was paying close attention to me when we got to the dining pavilion. We sat together, and waited for Mr. D to begin the feast.

"Good afternoon campers, I have some announcements." He was still in a good mood from earlier. I wondered how long it would last. "First, we have a new camper." He gestured toward me. Helen made me stand up. "Alex Richardson! A fine young girl indeed." Everyone looked to me expectantly.

"What?" I asked.

"Well, how did he mess up your name?" asked a kid from the other side of the table.

"What do you mean?" I asked in a whisper.

"How did he mess up your name? He always messes with our names." He explained.

"He didn't miss anything. Not even the shortening I like." I protested. "He got it right." Somehow, the entire camp heard. There were whispers everywhere.

"As I was saying," Mr. D started again, "I still have announcements to make!" the hill was silent. "There, that's better. Now I have some important news I think some of you might find interesting." He glared around the place. "You all know how Chiron is a master at many and most games? Including pinochle. Now, today, we had another player at the table. Now this player, was a master of the game as much or better than our dear Chiron." I was sitting down again, but I still blushed and shuffled my feet. "And they were so good; they beat me, _and_ Chiron. In the same sitting. Now this player is the first person known to have beat Chiron at anything. Especially pinochle. Aside from me of course." He stared at me. "You have already met her tonight, but I think she deserves a round of applause and an extra long banquet tonight, don't you all think?"

I stood again, as Mr. D waved his hand at me. The pavilion and all the tables outside it burst into applause and screaming. I'm sure that most of the cheering came from the fact that I was responsible for an extra special party tonight.

The nymphs brought out big heaping plates of food. All sorts of Greek stuff. There was Italian flatbread with olives and cheese. There were many other things on the tables, but the one that sticks to my memory most, was the barbeque. It was delicious. Despite the fact, that almost all the fat was cut off. It was still good.

Before I had a chance to take a bite though, came one of the weirdest rituals I have ever come across. Everyone at the cabin got up, and walked to a big bronze brazier the size of a bathtub, and burning inside, the flames licked the edges and danced on each other, blazing like the first eternal fire on Olympus. I wondered if that was true as well as everything else going on around me. Each person, as they got close to the fire, whispered something, and scraped something into the flames.

Each time someone dropped something into the fire; it sparked and seemed to glow for them especially. The smoke curled into the air, dancing up, into the sky to join the stars in an eternal dance of light and dark. As I got up, I isolated a small bunch of grapes on my plate. When I got to the edge of the brazier, I had no one to pray to. I had no idea who my father was. And then it hit me.

"Poseidon." I murmured into the flames. "You who has guided my family for thousands of years. And you who we thank for your patronage over my family. I pray to you, to send me a sign, and tell me of my heritage." I know it sounds way too formal, but it just came to me.

And right then, he must have been listening, because as I tossed my grapes, the floor around me turned blue-green.

"Look!" someone shouted. There were gasps around me, and the entire hall broke into talk and confusion. I looked up above my head.

Shining above my head, spinning and swirling, yet already dissipating by the time I looked up, was a large, green holographic image of a trident, bathing me in green light. The symbol of Poseidon.


	5. A new situation

I never expected to have another half brother. Let alone Percy. But then again, I never expected to see a gleaming holographic green trident, swirling above my head.

I was in a new home, new friends, my first day, just beginning to get to know my surroundings. And then I had to be separated into a small new cabin. The good news, I had a bunk. The bad news, there was only Percy to share the cabin with. I was almost entirely at home, but there was the fact that we didn't get along. And the terrible feeling that I was about to become even more important than I wanted to be.

I moved into one of the silk-sheeted beds in cabin three, the one on the left side of the cabin when you walked in. Percy had the middle one. There was a bedside table beside my head, and a small drawer to keep valuables in. Into the drawer went my toiletries. I put everything else on my new bed before sorting. There were three dressers, a deep blue one, a green one the color of seaweed, and a teal one. Into the teal one went my cloths and reading supplies.

I had only been at camp a day, and I was already claimed and had a nice place to stay. But at night, I felt very mentally uncomfortable. I was happy to know who I was, but it didn't feel quite right. There was always something off. Something important I was failing entirely to get. Something very prominent that it should be obvious what the problem was.

"I still don't get it." I murmured to myself in bed. "I'm missing something, I don't get it."

Percy rolled over in bed. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Did you forget something?" I hadn't realized that I had been getting louder as I whispered.

"I can't tell. I don't get it." I complained. "All I'm getting is a bad feeling. And my dreams haven't been getting any better recently." I couldn't believe that a day ago, I was just regular old Alex; ADHD and dyslexic, yes, but nothing special. Today, I was Alexandria, daughter of Poseidon, god of the sea, and champion of pinochle. I snorted mentally at the title Mr. D gave me, and the silver laurel crown with tiny silver grapes and a small horse charm. I had placed the crown on my dresser. Out of the way, but still in plain sight. I would forever be a 'champion' apparently. Also, I appeared to be the only favorite Mr. D had ever had. This didn't particularly make me feel good about myself, I figured the consequences were as yet unknown.

"Tell me about your dreams." He sounded like they were way too important for me to feel any better. But I told him all about them.

When I was done, he frowned. "Hmmm," he mused. "I wonder . . . have you had similar dreams before?" he was paying too much attention. I shifted uncomfortably.

"Yes and no." he just listened to me, waiting for more. So I continued. "The dream is a reoccurring one, for me. But I always remember watching it from my own point of view. I have never been anyone else before. And I have never visited that cavern." I stated confidently.

"Perhaps we are not done with this war as we once thought. Maybe we are only half done. Or even just beginning. I should have known that idiot would not give up so soon. He only lost Luke. Not his entire army. I should tell Chiron."

"Not yet." I don't know where the words came from, they just did. I did not say them but I did agree with them. I wanted to find out more about the person in the dream first. And then I would tell Chiron.

Percy looked at me like I was nuts. "Why in Tartarus not?" he demanded. "It's important. He should know the important stuff."

"I don't know. I just want to know more first." I told him. It was not a complete lie; I only knew that for some reason, Chiron would not like it. I wanted to know more before he said no. at least I would know something.

Percy looked at me calculatingly again, and then he rolled back over. It seemed everyone was calculating me lately, and it made me self-conscious. "Good night." He mumbled.

"Night." I replied. But for some reason, I stayed awake for a long time, and when I finally fell asleep, I regretted it.

_I am running down the beach, my hair blowing out behind me. I can feel the sari around my waist, feel the sense of buoyancy, and smell the faint twinge of salt in the air. I know that I am me, not someone else. _

_I see Katie and Mitch, sitting by the big rock we like to hang out by. They are always there. Every time I am here, they are there. They are sitting and laughing, eating little sandwiches and olives. When they see me, their faces light up, and they wave to me. There is something about the way they do it. It feels fake._

_I walk over to them and sit down. Mitch hands me a sandwich and I take it. I open my mouth to take a bite, when I hear a voice. It sounds familiar, but I cannot place it. It seems to be coming from the ocean, a booming voice that shakes the sandwich out of my hands._

_"Do not eat the food." Says the voice." It will harden your heart and make you vulnerable in worse ways than you are." I look toward the ocean and I think I see a face in the surf._

_I turn back to Mitch and almost take a bite. I pause, and set it down. I stand up. And turn around. I see a white flash, brilliant and almost blue with the lack of color. I hear a bang, like lightning striking right next to me. I see two things, on the sand fighting._

_"Don't you touch her!" the first one yells, in the voice that told me to stop eating. It was a large white horse, with a sea blue mane and tail. Both were tangled with seaweed; and it had large, bright green eyes. They were flashing in hatred and annoyance._

_The other thing was a large cloud of darkness, glowering at the horse. It seemed to radiate fear, and death. It floated in the air, hissing and spitting. "You have not only broken your oath once brother, but twice. You are a disgrace to us all. Two children, after an oath to have no more. I was the only one who kept my promise."_

_"Please brother, I didn't know she existed! Not until she called to me at the brazier. I heard her, and realized only then, who she was. I was never told she existed. I did not know! I swear." The horse seemed to cower when a lightning bolt struck the ground about twenty feet away from him. As the light cleared, a large golden eagle appeared on the sand._

_"You forget, Hades, you too had children, and did not tell us. We all broke the oath, but it is no longer binding. I have not decided what we should yet do, but I believe that we should keep her around for a while. Find out what she is capable of. And Apollo is positive she is not to die any time soon. Let's watch her; I'm curious._

_Suddenly, the horse stiffened. He turned an eye to face me, and it got wide. In my mind, I clearly heard his voice. "Leave now Alex, you should not stay. Your friends will need you soon. I am busy. Now _wake!_"_

"Wake up Alex!" Percy is shaking me, getting me up. I groan.

"Huh?" I mumble

"Get up. You've been talking about horses and shadows all night. Were you dreaming?"

"Yes. Now, can I get up." I stretched, then rolled my legs over the side of the bed, and stood up. My vision went fuzzy, but it does that. It cleared as I made my way to the dresser. I pulled out a black t-shirt and a pair of skinny jeans. I didn't mind getting dressed in front of a girl, but Percy was another matter altogether. I know he's my brother, but I just met him.

I am not comfortable in front of guys in such situations. Luckily, he was occupied with getting dressed himself. So I pulled down my pants and shimmied into my jeans. I yanked on my shirt and pulled off the blue cotton one from underneath. I put my night clothes on the bed and pulled a brush through my hair. I applied my eyeliner and Chap Stick. I stuffed the second item into my back pocket and stretched my arms and legs; going through a few dance moves.

I have to admit, I'm a terrible dancer, but we take it twice a month at school. The stretches are hard, but they get the blood flowing in the morning. I like to start the day off with a few.

It had been four days since I got here, and I'd learned a lot, but there was still a lot to learn.

I pulled on a baseball cap from my backpack, my hair in a ponytail. The cap is red, and it has a big yellow 'A' on the front. It was supposed to stand for "Alvin" as in "Alvin and the chipmunks," but I had an 'A' name too. So I wore it sometimes. Just for fun.

"Nice," someone commented. I made a face at the doorway. A tall blonde woman was standing there, her hair in a ponytail, and her eyes looked like Tabatha's. She smirked and turned to Percy. He was just zipping up his jeans. "Hurry up, Seaweed brain! We got to go! Chiron wants to talk to us." She looked back to me. "We have to get you a sword. One that works for a sea kid."

"A sword?" I asked in disbelief. "You're kidding right?" she was silent. And, unfortunately, she looked very serious.

I'd never been fond of swords of knives.

"I'm hurrying." Percy mumbled. "What does he want to talk to me about?" she shrugged. "It would be nice if he would just send me a keyword." He muttered. "Tell me just a little before he embarrasses me with something stupid."

"All he said is he wants to talk to you. About something important. You going to keep complaining, or just go talk to him?" he slumped his shoulders and followed her out of the cabin.

The conch horn, meaning breakfast, blew on the hill. I felt bad for the poor shmuck that had to go up there and blow that stupid thing every day. Maybe it was a Hermes or Iris kid. I couldn't tell from the commons area.

We trudged up the hill in the bright morning sun. It was a beautiful morning at six o'clock. I was feeling great about coming here. More campers were arriving over the hill and greeting friends. Some of the kids, the Aphrodite kids I imagine, had so many suitcases that their luggage must have taken up most of the plains' storage. I laughed quietly at the thought.

The night I came here, I hadn't been able to get a good look at any of the kids. So many distractions. I'd made up for it the past few days. There were kids of all ages, sizes, ethnicities, colors, and categories. There were jocks, valley girls, bullies, weirdoes, and flower children. In fact, just about the only stereotype there was none of, was nerds. There were no nerds. I thought this weird.

As we filed into the dining pavilion, I heard snickers from fellow campers. They probably thought me tagging along behind Percy funny. I turned around as we got to our table and glared a murderous glare at the company of campers. No one ever laughed at me again; unless I made it clear, you were allowed to.

I sat down, satisfied. I was pretty sure I would get along fine here.

After breakfast, Percy went to talk to Chiron, and I tagged along just for fun. When we got to the big house, he walked right up and pulled the door open. I felt like we should knock first, but he barged right in.

In the middle of the room, was Chiron, out of the wheelchair. He was talking to two people. One, an upper teen, in a bright yellow t-shirt, khakis, and Greek sandals. He wore a pair of dark tinted shades and a huge grin, as if he were up to no good.

His hair was sandy blond, and he had a nice tan. He looked a lot like Seth. The other in the room, was a girl about my age, with mid-length red-brown hair. Her eyes were green and she was already turned to the door when it opened. She looked calm, but a little off.

"Percy!" her eyes lit up when she saw us. She ran over and hugged him.

He looked completely bewildered for a second, but he hugged her back. "Hey Rachel. Welcome back. How've you been, out in the world?"

She pulled away to look at him. "Fine. You look taller. And cuter. How are you?"

"I'm good." He grinned at her. "Can you guess what I'm about to say next?"

She looked over his shoulder at me, standing in the corner, feeling like an intruder. "Meet my sister, Alex." She quoted him before he even spoke it. She turned to him. "Am I right?"

He laughed. "Yep. You're getting better at controlling it, aren't you?"

She nodded and walked up to me. "Hello, my name is Rachel Elizabeth Dare. The newest host to the spirit of the oracle at Delphi. And Percy's friend." She grinned at me as she held out her hand.

I took it, and looked her over. She was dressed in a sickly green shirt, and ripped, paint-splattered pants. She had a large green armband, and a thin gold circlet. Her face had a faint chalky sheen to it, but she seemed normal; if you didn't look too close.

"The oracle huh?" I was quite impressed. I had heard stories of her. But this was not the kind of girl I expected the oracle to choose as a host. Then again, go with the times, she looked more of less modern.

She nodded. The boy in shades cleared his throat and Rachel looked at him. "Oh, I almost forgot." She gestured to him. "This is Apollo, god of the sun, medicine, and oracles." She smiled at him and he grinned right back.

"Hey," said Apollo. "Alex, right? Nice name. Short for something?"

"Yes. It is. Though a prefer Alex."

"That's cool." He looked like he was having fun, though I didn't see much to have fun about. His grin was almost stretching his face in half. Yep, he was definitely Seth's father. I could the resemblance. It was blinding, pardon the pun.

Apollo studied me skeptically. But there was still a huge grin on his face. He seemed to realize something, and the smile melted. "Where did you find her?" he asked Percy.

"In a park, not far from the empire state building." Percy answered. "At the Greek festival. She's quite powerful."

Apollo thought about this. He muttered to himself for a few second. And then he opened his arms and took a deep breath. Everyone in the room groaned. Except me. He began to recite:

"One more child of Poseidon.

Found days ago nearby here.

This is sooooo not good."

He looked around the room for praise. I snorted, trying to hide my laughter. He beamed at me. I mean _beamed_. He literally started to glow with satisfaction. "Well now. I see you have a good taste in haikus, you like it?"

"Yes, I actually do. The meaning is not so pleasant, but it was good, none the less." I tried to keep my laughter inside. I couldn't for long. I cracked up.

Everyone else in the room looked like they had serious migraines. I figured I was one of the few who appreciated Apollo's 'talent.'

He did not seem offended. In fact, he seemed encouraged. "Why thank you." His smile was blinding. "Well I got to be on my way. You know, sun duties and all that. See you tomorrow. In the mean time, Rachel, you can stay in my cabin. I won't mind." With that, he walked outside, got into a sweet red Maserati, and took off onto the sky, waving goodbye.

I watched him leave in confusion. I have to admit though, I was sad to see him go. I had only known him like, five minutes, and already I was quite fond of him. I got the feeling that the likable-ness was genetic.

"Seriously? You liked his haiku. They're ridiculous! Are you crazy?" Rachel asked me.

Quite possibly. "Yes, I did." I told her. "And I don't care if they're ridiculous, it was funny. He's into poetry?"

"He's the _god_ of poetry." Percy told me. "Of course he's into poetry."

"Right." I felt like an idiot. "Duh."

"Well Percy, can I speak to you for a second?" Chiron butted in. "We have some important things going on. We need you."

Percy followed him out of the room, into a hall, and into another room down it. Chiron shut the door.

"You have any idea what they are talking about?" I asked Rachel. She just shrugged.

I explored the big house. Looking into a few open doors of the place. When I found the kitchen, I found a stalk load of something caramel colored. I grabbed a little piece and took a bite of it. It was warm and felt good in my body. I suddenly felt stronger and comfortably warmer. It tasted like beef udon.

When I offered some to Rachel, who had followed me around the house, she looked at me like I was crazy again. "Don't you know what that will do to me if I eat any?"

I was thoroughly confused, so I shook my head.

"It will incinerate me. That's god food. And you can only have a little bit or it'll give you a fever. Don't you know this already?"

I shook my head and she put up her hands in exasperation. "You'd think they would tell you this. They are supposed to tell you what will kill you; why don't they include food?"

I stared at her, uncomprehending. I nibbled at my square.

"You're hopeless aren't you?"

"Yep." I grinned hugely at her.

She rolled her eyes and turned around. She rummaged in the refrigerator and said: "Aha!" she held aloft a tuna sandwich triumphantly and smiled. "Yum!" she announced. She checked for signs that claimed it for anyone else. Finding none, she opened the bag and took it out. She took a bite.

I found another and added mustard to it. I ate mine as we walked out of the kitchen and down the hall. By the time we got outside, we were both half done, so we sat on the wraparound porch and ate tuna sandwiches. It was okay, at least it was fun. We talked about random things, discussing what others were doing in the valley, and she told me who each of the cabins were for.

When we were done with our sandwiches, we just sat and watched the campers in the valley. There was a basketball game between the Ares and Apollo kids, according to Rachel.

Some kids were sitting on the sidelines and cheered or booed. Some Aphrodite girls had dressed in pink red and white skimpy outfits and were cheering the Apollo kids on. They caused quite a turn out; being gorgeous girls in tiny outfits. Some of the Ares kids looked at them and sneered at the Apollo's campers. They played viciously, trying to overthrow the enemy. The Apollo kids just played for attention; they were lighter and faster and they played to win. Not to beat their opponents senseless. No, at least I doubt that was the plan.

We both rooted for the Apollo cabin. Cheering when they got a basket, encouraging when they missed. After about an hour, they were all sweating, even the Ares kids. But in the end, Apollo won. We screamed in excitement and rushed down the hill. When we got down, I spotted Seth and ran over to him. "Congratulations!" I called as I ran toward him.

I hugged him tightly and cheered my praise. A bunch of Aphrodite girls in cheerleader outfits was rewarding the Apollo kids with lots of attention and kisses on cheeks. A few of them even had Apollo boyfriends, and they were making out all around us.

There was a lot of yelling behind us, so I looked around. The Ares kids were yelling at each other, and berating each other for loosing.

"It's getting loud here," I said.

"Yeah. It is." He agreed. We walked away from the rest, and I went back to find Rachel.

Rachel and I went back up the hill to the big house. Percy and Chiron were sitting at the pinochle table. Or, Percy was; Chiron was standing beside it in full centaur form. He wore a leather breastplate and a white t-shirt under it. He looked irritated. He held a piece of long paper, rolled into a scroll. As we approached, he slipped the paper into a small tube. It was painted with the symbols of power of the Olympians.

"What's that?" I pointed to the paper in his hand. He held it out to show me, but I didn't touch it.

"It's a list." He said glumly. "Of half-bloods around the world. We finally got it, though it's been years. This is going to take ages to get all the kids on this list. Fortunately, the names are sorted by school and state or country. It will be easier to find them. And, there is more than one name under some schools, so we can kill two birds with one arrow. Figuratively speaking of course." He grinned.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" I asked. "Let's go get some demigods."

"It's not that easy." Percy warned. "Some of these kids will already have monsters on their trails. We might just put them in more danger, going after them."

"You're right," Chiron agreed. "We should try to start out slow. Alex, you should stay here for now."

"But I want to learn! I have been here for a days and I'm already itching to get out!"

"I'll go get a team together." Percy said to Chiron, who nodded.

"You can take four others, and try not to get yourselves killed." He warned.

"Percy, can I please go with you?" I begged him.

"Sure." He answered. "I really don't see why not." Chiron snorted, but didn't protest.

"May I come to?" asks the blonde from earlier, walking in the door.

"Sure, Annabeth." So that was her name. "Now I just need Seth and Grover."

We walked down into the valley, and found A young man with a Rasta cap near the lake, flirting with some girls in the water. Annabeth told me they were naiads. "Yo, Grover! You want to come with me to find some half bloods?" Percy shouted.

"Yeah!" he called back. He waved goodbye to the naiads, which giggled and waved back. He came running and stood in front of us. "So where are we going?" he asked.

Percy looked down at the list Chiron had given him. "Well, it says here, that there are four half bloods in Texas, three of them go to the same school."

"We're going to the lone star state!" I grinned.

As we drove up to the front of the school, we gasped. The school was _huge_. There was a huge set of four glass doors, and a few fire hydrants. The walls were made of brown and red brick, but the columns and a lot of the architecture was cement. The school was five stories tall, and three city blocks long and deep. Supposedly, there were around two-thousand students in the school building during school hours.

It was one thirty. We had an hour and fifteen minutes until school got out. During which time, we needed to get in, grab our half bloods, and get out. It was Monday, the last day of school for these kids.

"How the heck are we supposed to find three people, in a school this big?" I demanded. Percy shrugged, and turned to Annabeth. She was gazing at the brickwork, like it was a puzzle to be solved. He touched her shoulder, and she blinked.

"I have no idea." She admitted. "Do you see the work on those pillars? They're incredible!" she started muttering to herself."

"I have an idea." Seth announced from the driver's seat. "We get the secretary to call the kids we need." He got out of the van and came around to the door we were all sitting behind, looking out the tinted windows.

A few Hephaestus kids had messed with the vehicle. It was still a giant orange hippie-bus with "Camp half-blood" written in Greek on the outside; but inside was awesome. The seats were all on the floor, and they were like giant fluffy beanbags. Each seat had a working seatbelt, and they would turn up and over into normal seats if you pressed a button on the dashboard. The only problem, you could not sit in the seat while it was turning over, or you would get squashed. There were twelve seats in all. Each one was a different color, depending on who sat in them; they were enchanted to reflect the mood of the one sitting in it. If no one sat in it, it was white. The place even had a refrigerator built into the back of one of the front seats, which was always heavily stocked with loads of food.

I got out and pulled Grover behind me. Seth came too. Percy and Annabeth decided to stay in the limo. To watch it. Seth held my hand as we walked up the stairs.

When we got inside, we got lost almost immediately, trying to find our way to the office. We had a half an hour to find it before passing time, according to the slips of paper near the door.

As we wandered through the halls of the high school, we passed a tall girl in a green and red miniskirt and a green sweater that showed off her midriff. It had the schools initials and a picture of a fox in red. She had a great stomach and long red hair in a ponytail. Her eyes were green like the grass and her face had a light sprinkling of freckles.

She eyed Seth as if she was considering going up to him and asking his name. She completely ignored me.

As it turns out, Seth had more guts than she did. He let go my hand and walked up to her. "Excuse me, but could you tell me where the office is? We seem to be lost." he seemed to look her up and down. This got the desired response.

"Sure!" she agreed, puffing out her chest. She seemed to swell with pride at hooking such a hottie. "It's this way, follow me." She turned and walked towards the way we had just come. She led us down a hall that we had missed, and showed us a long hallway with many doors. "Just down there." She told us. She smiled brilliantly as she turned and walked away.

"Wait." Seth called. She paused, and turned. "Can you show me which one? I can't tell."

"Oh, sure." She beamed as she led us down the hallway. It was a long one, and each door was marked with a number and a sign. She led us to # 25 and dropped us off. "Hey, by the way, what's your name?" she asked him.

"Seth." He answered. "And yours?"

"Katie Sullivan." She told him.

"Alex, give me the list." He said. I did. He scanned it and found the school we were at. He looked down the list of names. "Katie Sullivan. I was right. We need her." He told me. "Hey Katie." He called down the hall. "Meet us in the office after school. We need to talk to you." She smiled and nodded. And then she disappeared down the hall. I could swear she was swinging her hips more than usual. I could see her panties, which was awkward, under her miniskirt. Put some clothes on, girl.

We walked into the office, and the woman behind the desk immediately caught my attention. She was tall and blond, and she wore red glasses and her hair in a bun. She glanced up at us, and turned back to the mountain of papers on the desk. She held up one finger as she put something down and shuffled some papers.

"Can I help you?" she asked in a beautiful alto voice. Her fingers twitched when she tried to still them.

"Um, we need you to call a few students. We need to talk to them after school."

"Reason?" she asked. She grabbed a pen and paper. And wrote something down.

"Actually, we can't tell you about it. Just ask you to call them and tell them to meet us out front after school. We need to talk to them." Seth said.

"I'm sorry, I can't do that without the proper information. I'd need a legitimate reason to call them down." She said.

"Fine. Um, here." Seth reached into him pocket, and pulled out a blank sheet of paper. She looked at it and her eyes grew wide.

"I had no idea! Right away, young man." She handed the paper back to Seth, and then wrote something down on her pad. "May I have the names of these particular kids? First and last, if you do not mind."

I pulled out the list. The names we needed here, I rattled off. "Katie Sullivan and Sierra and Mytreya Luxemburg." I announced.

She repeated the list of names as she wrote them down. She asked to look at the list, but she could not make sense of it. That was when I realized it must have been written in Greek. She looked slightly impressed, but didn't say anything.

When she was done, she typed each name into her computer, found something, and picked up the phone to call the class they were in. She would introduce herself, then ask for the person we needed. She would tell them to meet in the office after school, tell them it was important, And then she would thank the person and hang up.

While she was calling, I asked Seth what the paper was.

"It's enchanted. It's a useful back-up note, if people give us a hard time. It's designed to read a person's mind and tell them just what they need to do what we want." He explained.

"So what did she see?" I asked.

"Don't know, only she does."

She made three calls.

Apparently, two of the kids we needed, were twins. Mytreya and Sierra. By the time she was done, we had forty minutes left. So we went to the nearest Starbucks. It wasn't far, and it wasn't full. We were able to get there, get in, get what we needed, and get out and back; with two minutes to spare.

We went back inside and found the office again. We didn't talk, we just waited for school to get out.

When the bell rang, we could hear hundreds of kids make their way into the halls. After a few minutes, I glimpsed Katie Sullivan, entering the room, looking confused. She was still wearing her green and red cheerleader outfit. She saw us and came right over.

A few seconds later, a set of strawberry blonds in pink, purple and blue outfits came into the room. One was wearing a blue business shirt, very girly, with a pink tie and purple skirt. She wore black Mary-Jane's and pink knee socks. Her long hair was up in two big ponytails.

The other, wore a white puffy shirt, with a wide lavender belt, and bell-bottom jeans. As she got closer, I was able to make out a small pink heart-shaped patch on the lower left leg. Her long hair was down and somewhat messy. She wore turquoise sneakers and pink face paint.

They went to the lady behind the desk, and she pointed us out.

We had the three we needed in front of us. "Sierra and Mytreya?" I turned to look at the twins. They nodded. "Katie." I turned to Seth. "We're all here."

"Yep." He looked at our small audience and began to walk toward the door. "Let's talk in private."

Katie got into the car without hesitation. "What about the 'Don't get into a strangers car' rule?" Asked Mytreya. Sierra stood with her sister outside.

"No one's in the drivers' seat." I told them. "And we don't plan on kidnapping you. We just need to talk in private." They looked at each other, and nodded. They got in.

I sat down in one of the seats on the far end. Seth sat beside me, and Grover beside him. Next to the door, was Percy, followed by Annabeth. Next to her, were two empty spaces.

The new kids sat on the side away from the door, facing us. Their chairs were swirling brightly.

"We come, with news of something important. First, we need a straight answer." This was fun I was only a day old at this, but it already felt normal. "How many of you have never met one or more of their biological parents?"

"Well, I never met my mother." Announced Katie.

"Us too." The twins put in. "We never met our mom."

I turned to Katie Sullivan. "What about your dad? What does he do?"

"He owns a dating service on the border." She told me. "Says he met my mother there. And my stepmother. She's a batch, but he seems to like her. So I don't bother them."

"And you two?" I turned to the twins. "What about you? What does your dad do?"

"Our dad is a famous Olympian athlete. He can run like, superfast and throw a javelin like a maniac." Sierra told me.

"He's got like, fifty medals for "good work" in something or other. And he's so stuck up. He acts as if he just has to babysit us. He never acts like were his real kids. And he reads too many outdated sports illustrated magazines." Mytreya complained. "I've been considering running away for years, but Sierra won't let me. She's too happy with her expensive life. She cannot live without her 'ultra powerful hair dryer' or her 'one-hundred dollar make-up kits.' It's ridiculous. Even I'm not so stuck up." Sierra gave her a dirty look. Mytreya stuck her tongue out at her.

"Are you sure your mother is the same woman?" I asked.

"Yes. Born together and best friends for life." Sierra announced proudly. Mytreya didn't seem too happy at the moment. I could tell she never wanted to leave this stupid bus. I didn't ask about it.

"So why do you want to know about our parents?" Katie asked, drawing all the attention to herself. I could tell she loved it.

I'd only been involved in this for a few days, and I knew a few things for certain about half-bloods: Most or all of them are ADHD, and probably dyslexic too. They all had some sort of powers that helped determine them; and none of them, except the Aphrodite kids, liked attention.

"Have you ever heard about the Olympian gods?" Percy asked them. They all nodded.

"Well to make a long story short," Annabeth put in. "They're real. And sometimes, they have kids with mortals. These kids are half bloods or demigods. And they often are just about as powerful as their Olympian parent is. Sometimes, the kid is not so powerful, so they can get away with normal lives. You won't believe the amount of famous people who are demigods. And even if you did, we're not supposed to talk about it."

As she explained all this, I listened closely as well. I had never heard the situation explained that way before. When she was done, we all sat there, each one of us in a beanbag. The newer kids' bags were swirling in colors. Annabeth's was a reddish gray, and it wasn't changing colors much. Mine was a deep navy as I considered all this.

Suddenly, I felt the hairs on the back of neck stand up. My bag turned a bright shade of orange. I looked out the window, but everything looked normal. The color dulled a little. Everyone was watching the bag I was sitting in in alarm.

I scanned the kids and the stairs, but nothing seemed to jump out at me. Suddenly, a kid who looked surprisingly like Mitch came out of the front doors. I realized he had the same limp before I realized it was Grover. He was running down the steps and yelling. I heard something like "Help! Monster!" through the glass. Percy opened the door, and Grover came running up. He jumped in, lost a shoe, grabbed it, and sat down. His bag turned bright yellow. "Drive." He said. I obliged.

I was sixteen, and I did have a license, but I'd never driven' such a big car before. Even so, it was awesome. As I pulled out, I floored the accelerator. Which may not have been such a brilliant idea, but I'm impulsive. I do stuff. Kids and adults alike screamed and scattered like cockroaches when you turn on the kitchen light. It would have been hilarious in a game or something, if it hadn't been real. Or as terrifying. As we turned the corner, I could just see out the passenger side mirror. A large, leathery bird, with a whip and the ugly wrinkled face of an old hag. She screeched and flew after us, flapping her gigantic wigs.

We drove as fast as we could, which was around a hundred mile an hour, thanks to those geniuses in the Hephaestus cabin. As we drove, I focused solely on getting us south, toward camp half blood. And not getting us turned into scrap metal. We drove halfway across the state, towards the boarder.

The gas tank held a lot of gas. We had refilled it just before we got to the school. We had driven at top speed the whole way, and the needle still wasn't anywhere near the quarter mark. The car must have been enchanted or something. We had some Hecate kids at camp.

As we drove under a tunnel near Houston, it occurred to me that as long as it was in Leather bird form, the monster behind us wouldn't fit. It was too big with wings like that. And it had to be stupid, 'cause you rather have to be if you're that ugly. So I hit the brake. The car screeched as it came to a halt in the middle of a tunnel.

"What are you doing?" Annabeth demanded.

I opened the door. "Get out." I told everyone inside.

"Why?" asked Percy. "You just stopped. She's going to get us if we get out

"Just do it. Now! I'm trying to confuse her. Just get out and follow me."

Turns out, my instincts were right. Everyone got out, and we ran for cover in an old tunnel I had seen on the way in. The hole was small enough, and made of metal, that anyone bigger around than Percy, who was the largest and actually took a bit longer to get through, would be too big around to get in. Plus, the added bonus of a grilled door. Meaning the lawyer/Leather hag, would get stuck trying to get in. If she even got past the gate-thing first. I doubted she could. Luckily, we were all quite skinny.

As soon as we were all inside, I checked to make sure the bus was in view, which it was, and I swung the gate closed. We were safe, for now. I turned to everyone else and regarded the looks I saw. Fear, resentment at being cooped up, hate for the thing that had just attacked us, and confusion as to what my plan was.

I had no idea what to tell them. I suddenly realized that we must have been in some sort of drainpipe, 'cause the place smelled horrible. I prayed for a shower in the near future, and turned to watch the tunnel.

And not a moment too soon. As soon as I turned around, the lawyer walked onto the pavement from outside. It looked around in confusion, and hissed when it saw the limo. We held our breath. It walked over to the parked limo, looked in through the windows, and its eyes narrowed. It sniffed at the air, trying to pick up our sent. I stiffened, and I heard a sharp intake of breath behind me. Fortunately, a car passed across the tunnel, masking the sound.

"Where are you children?" the lawyer asked in a horrible voice. It grated on my nerves and made me want to scream. I bit my tongue. "Why do you hide from me now? When you so graciously left yourselves out in the open at that dreadfully huge school? You called to me with your sent. If you didn't want me, why have so many friends in one place?" he was studying the walls and sniffling.

"Damn it!" Annabeth muttered under her breath as another few cars went by. "How could we have been so stupid? Our sent must have been intoxicating!"

I had no idea what she meant, but I didn't ask. We were trapped in a tunnel, in the middle of Texas, far from New York and camp half blood. How the heck were we going to get out of this? And then fate answered my prayers. Well, kind of.

At that moment, a tall, pale kid with a grateful dead t-shirt and black jeans stepped out of the shadows across the tunnel. He had short silky black hair and dark eyes. I had seen him lurking around camp, but had never given him much thought. Now I did. He literally melted out of the shadows, like he had _become_ them, and then needed to take shape. The lawyer's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. It stopped looking for us and knelt in front of the boy.

"Master Nico, what is it you have come to me for?" the lawyer looked terrified of the kid. I thought it was hilarious, but I kept my mouth shut.

"What are you doing here, Electo? Are you hunting?" the kid looked bored, and slightly awkward talking to this particular Lawyer.

"Electo?" I whispered to Seth beside me.

"Remember the festival?" Percy muttered. "We call them kindly ones. Don't ask me why."

"I was chasing some half bloods, sir." The lawyer told him.

"Why would you chase half bloods?" how many?"

"Eight, sir. One a satyr. They were in that vehicle." He pointed to the orange bus we had ditched in an effort to get rid of the fury.

"That is a camp bus." Nico scolded him. "You should be ashamed of yourself! Scram!" he waved his hand. The lawyer bowed again and disappeared.

"Alright, you can come out now!" Nico called into the tunnel. "She's gone."

I pushed open the grate and stepped out. I guess I smelled terrible, but Nico didn't even wrinkle his nose. What a diplomat.

"Hey guys. How is it going? You get all the kids you need?"

"Yup. We're doing fine, you?"

"I'm well. Thanks. So what are you doing in a drain pipe?"

"Well, the smell isn't too bad and the monsters are down to a minimum. Why are you here?" Percy said casually. I laughed quietly.

"I sensed Electo staying above ground for longer than she usually does. I figured she had to have a reason."

"Well there was a reason. Us." I told him. "And who was your dad?"

"My father?" he mused, looking bored. "Oh, him. Hades."

I considered this. "Cool. So how did you get here?" I asked him.

"Shadow travel. The way most monsters of the dark get around fast. It's pretty efficient, but it's a total drain of energy if you do it too much. May I catch a ride?"

"Sure! Of course, you can. Alex was just driving us back to long island. Get in."

We all got back into the car. I got back in to the driver's seat, and Seth got shotgun. The rest of the kids got into the back. We got settled in, and I started up the engine. As we drove on, there were no more monsters in our path, or following us; as far as we knew. But the car smelled bad.

In Austin, we picked up another boy. His name was Malcolm Schmitz, and he was quite pale with dark hair. He had lived with his mother until he was seventeen, and then she'd died, leaving him on the streets. He was on the list, but we didn't have much on him other than what he told us.

Driving through north Virginia, we stopped at a burger king. We had been traveling for two days and we were hungry. Nico had some cash, but not much. The twins ended up paying for food. They seemed to be incredibly rich and they each had a credit card with tons of money behind them, so that got us fed. All I got was a sprite, I felt a little queasy. Percy took the wheel after that. Everyone else got a meal or something.

We ate on the way, talking about family and things we liked to do for fun. I was a little sick for most of the day, but I was fine as we cruised into the long island area and slowed down.

We all got out of the car and trudged up the hill. When we got to the top, I gave out. I was tired. I hadn't slept in three days and I was out of it. I guess I rolled down the hill a ways, but I wasn't conscious long enough to know for certain.


	6. Capturing and being captured

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to find myself in my cabin, but I was still new to it. So as soon as I woke up, I was so disoriented; I had no idea where I was.

My confusion was stifled though, as I noticed Percy across the room, and Seth sitting on my bed, holding a wet cloth. He smiled as he noticed my eyes open, and offered me a cup full of golden liquid.

"Morning! How you feeling? Still tired?" Seth was dressed in a yellow t-shirt and khakis, and his grin seemed to light up the room. Maybe it was his father's blood, or maybe it was the fact that it was nice to see him.

On the table, was my I-pod dock, with my I-pod, and it was playing. The song playing was entitled "Unwritten" and it was distracting. Good song, though.

"Yes. I am tired. You?"

"Nah, I'm good. Apparently, you're okay too. That's good." He offered the cup of liquid to me again. "Nectar? It'll help you feel less tired."

I took a sip. He was right. I could feel the Nectar driving away the ache and my limbs. It tasted like Dora-yaki. I sat up. I was okay. I smiled at him. "Thanks."

"No problem." He got up off the bed and helped me out of it. I stood up and felt fine. A little dizzy, but fine. I remembered the half bloods we had been sent to get.

"Are the others okay?" I asked. "Have they been determined?"

"Well, the girls were. We're still not so sure of Malcolm, but we are looking deeper."

"So who were they?

"Aphrodite claimed all of them right after we got down to camp. They are down at the lake getting to know the rest of the cabin. You know, favorite brands of make-up, how they like their hair, their favorite "cute" movie stars. That kind of stuff."

I giggled. "You sure know how to make people laugh."

He just grinned at me.

In the distance, a conch horn sounded. "Come on, Alex, let's go." Percy told me.

Seth took off to lead his own cabin up the hill, as Percy and I trudged up together. As we stepped onto the marble floor, it occurred to me, that I had no idea how long I had been unconscious. "Just a day." Percy assured me. "Nothing major. Just a day."

I still felt like I had missed a lot. In fact, nothing except the twins and Katie was different. But there was supposed to be a capture a flag game tomorrow. "Cool, I like capture the flag. I use to play all the time, my team always won." I'd had no idea we had to wear armor.

"Not like this you haven't." he promised. "Just make sure you know how to fight, and how to use your powers well. Try practicing at the lake tonight. I'll show you some things."

"Sounds like fun!"

"It's not supposed to be fun." He said. "It's supposed to be hard work."

He was right. As he taught me how to fight, I got tired fast. And the exercises he showed me were murder. But I kept at it. I worked on how to beat an opponent without the advantage of water, and with it. I learned to perfect my powers and control the water of the lake. I was feeling proud of myself. But the next thing he said to me made me question his sanity.

"Nice work." He approved of my sword parry. "Now let's go poke around the woods and find a monster for you to fight."

I dropped my jaw in amazement, looking at him. "Great idea! You're nuts!" I told him.

"I've already had that pointed out to me." He told me. "Now come on."

It wasn't hard to find something to fight. But it was scary to go into that huge forest _looking_ for a fight. It just wasn't practical.

We had been in the forest a total of fourteen seconds, when a huge scorpion came barreling toward us at top speed.

Now, scorpions are cool, don't get me wrong. But an approximate on these things dimensions was at least a few 100 pounds and around thirty feet long. And it was slightly deformed; it didn't look quite like a scorpion should. So when I tell you it was terrifying, it was.

I ran for the stream. When I got there, the scorpion was only a few feet away, so I whirled around and slashed downwards with the sword Percy had given me. I heard a sharp 'slick' and a horrible scream, and I saw dust. As the dust cleared, all I could see was the venomous stinger that lay on the ground. I wiggled once, and then became totally still. On an impulse, I picked it up, and slipped it into my hip pouch I keep around my waist, tied to my belt loops. Thinking back, I wonder why I did.

"Nice," Percy commented, walking up. "A little too impulsive. I don't think I would ever have touched that thing, but nice. I didn't even know they get that big. Cool."

"I have no idea what that thing was." I pointed out. He never told me. He just studied the ground and muttered. He was probably crazy. Great, another crazy brother.

"You want to go find a Harpy?" he suggested. When he said it, he got a glint in his eye I didn't trust at all.

"No thanks. I'm not in any hurry to get dead any time soon. Why don't you go get dead? Sure would make keeping the cabin clean easier. Run along and get dead now." I was a little bit, no, a lot, mad at him. And when I get mad, even a little, I get pissy.

I didn't like that he'd pulled me into the scary woods so that I could get a chance to kill something. It wasn't logical, and I don't always like illogical, especially if it's dangerous. I am no good at hiding my emotions. My mom calls me an open book. It makes it easier to figure out how I feel about things.

He grimaced, and put a finger to his chin. "I suppose it would. But that's beside the point. Look, no one, and I mean no one, will go easy on you. Even if you are new here. Capture the flag is like, the most important way to prove yourself here. So you got to practice. Even if your battle reflexes are better than most, they may only help you stay alive. You got to practice staying alive, and not getting hurt. Understand?" I nodded. "Good. Now let's go deeper and find you a harder monster." He moved his finger from his chin and wagged it at me.

"Wait, staying alive? You mean there's an actual chance of me dying?"

"There's always a chance that someone's going to die, but it nearly never happens. Most often someone gets mortally wounded and saved, or just temporarily incapacitated by some awful joke or strategy." He explained. It didn't make me feel any better after the initial panic.

"So there's an actual chance of me dying, but a larger chance of me getting seriously injured?" I clarified, disliking this plan more and more as I thought about it.

"Yes, exactly!" He said. He actually had the audacity to sound rather chipper about it too. I grimaced at him and he laughed, and then turned around and walked straight into a tree. I laughed.

And looking back, I'm fairly certain the tree laughed too…

We stalked through the forest, alert and silent. Occasionally, a twig would snap and we froze. When there was no other movement, we continued. I could hear whispering in the trees, and could see humanoid shapes in the shadows. It got frustrating after a time. I would hear a voice whisper something incoherently to another, and I would whirl around. I saw nothing but the shadows of the leaves on the forest floor, and hear nothing but the wind, making the leaves above us rustle softly.

By the time we reached a tall Cliffside, I was thoroughly infuriated. The whispering was making me nuts and I could sense a thousand presences surrounding me, close and untouchable. The Cliffside rose above us, blocking the moon, and casting us in shadow. As we slid along the rock face, alert for any sign of movement aside from our own, I got the feeling we were not alone.

"Hello?" I whispered. The felling was so intense; I could not help blurting it out.

"Shhhhhh!" Percy hissed. "What was that for?

"I don't know!" I hissed back. "I couldn't help it. I do that."

"It's okay." Came an entirely new voice. "I think I brushed her arm anyway." Annabeth appeared in front of Percy. She had a navy Yankees cap in her hand, poised above her head as if she had just taken it off. She stuffed it into her back pocket.

"What are you doing here?" Percy whispered. "How long did you follow us? Oh, and by the way, hi." He hugged her. She kissed him on the cheek as he pulled away. His cheeks turned a brilliant shade of red. I snickered.

"Since you left the commons area. I was sitting on a rock near the Zeus cabin. Nice job with the Scorpion, though." She noted, turning to me.

"Well, now that we know you're here, why don't you join us on our hunting trip?" He suggested. He began to sneak against the cliff face again.

Suddenly, he yelped. He disappeared into a crevice in the wall of stone. Annabeth and I looked at each other, and our eyes widened. We both hurried over to the spot where he had disappeared, and peeked in. The hole in the wall, turned out to be a cave. Percy had out a glowing bronze sword, and was examining the walls. He looked confused, and said he had never seen the place before.

We explored the cave. It wasn't small, that's for sure. It had a large main room, with a few shelves shaped from the stone of the walls, and a large flat area about hip height, at the far end of the room from the door. Each shelf was lined with about a thousand books, papers and pictures, and brain puzzles. There were thousands of carvings and things all over the walls. On the hip high part, thirty or so pillows and things were stacked over each other, and they looked quite luxurious.

"I wonder what this place is for." Annabeth mused. "Amazing." She ran her hand over the walls surrounding the hip high area. She walked across the room, and pointed out a knot in the stone. She touched it. A small A, a Greek alpha appeared on the wall, it glowed yellow, and the wall opened.

"Sweet." I told her. She grinned and walked inside, and we followed her. The wall didn't close behind us. "So where are we?" I asked.

"I think this is Apollo's new flat for Rachel." Annabeth was fascinated with the way the small hall was constructed. It was ribbed in Greek columns. Every five feet, a new one passed us as we walked.

At the end of the short hallway, it was only about twenty-five feet long, was another door. I looked above it and realize there was a light above it. At the very top of the arch, hanging from the center of each Columned arch, was a lantern. "Look, lights." I pointed. As soon as I said that, they lit up. They were dull, but they lit up. We all gasped. "Off?" I suggested. The glow faded out of each one, coming from the other end of the hall. We were slowly plunged into darkness as our eyes readjusted again. "Nice." I muttered.

"This is amazing." Percy said in awe.

Annabeth touched another knot in the wall, and it opened just like the last one. The room on the other side was just as fabulous. I told the lights to turn on, and we could see the entire room. There was a large flat platform, just like the throne thing in the other room, but it was larger. The walls were rather rounded, creating a circular room. The walls of the rest of the walls were flat; but smooth.

There were more books, and poetry, and little rhymes here and there. A few by Apollo himself; those were funny; and around a thousand small prophesies written on scraps of paper, linen, cardboard, even a few fast food restaurant wrappers.

I picked up a few random ones; the first was a little rhyme I could barely read. The rest were random drabbles of the also unintelligible variety. I put them down and picked up some others.

The third mentioned a kid of one of the three brother gods of Kronos. One of them mentioned a king of some sort, and one of them mentioned seven half bloods. Many of the little prophesies, had little doodles next to them in ancient Greek-style. There were kids fighting monsters of all sorts. And heroes doing all sorts of stupid things. One of them looked like a young teen, falling from the gateway arch. How was that possible? The gateway arch didn't exist in those times. I got a sneaking suspicion it wasn't from then.

One of the ones that caught my eye the most was a little scribble of a young girl and an older man. The man had something that looked like a big fork in his hand, and she had a small curved line on her forehead. The girl had long hair, filled in so it looked like it was supposed to be black or brown. He had the same shade on his head. My ADHD had me worrying about what it meant. Who were they? Why were they next to each other? How did they relate? What was the fork-thing in his hand? I didn't show it to either Percy or Annabeth. I wanted to figure out the mystery for myself. The whole piece of paper was an 11" by 8" piece, so I folded it up and stuck it in my pocket when no one was watching. I wasn't stealing it. I would bring it back… when I was done figuring out what it meant.

Annabeth was looking through a stack I had already been through. Suddenly, she gasped. "Percy look!" she pointed to the one of a boy falling from the gateway arch.

He stared at it. The date was at least a hundred years ago. At least the date on the drawing said so. He pulled it out of her hands and scrutinized it. "At least his artwork is better than his poetry." He mumbled.

Annabeth giggle over his shoulder. "Good likeness." She commented. She seemed to be laughing internally.

"Are you kidding?" Percy demanded. "He looks so calm. The entire way down I was panicking! I was definitely not calm."

"Um…" I tried. They were too busy to notice me.

"Well at least it looks like you." She told him. "Dose this look like Clarisse?" she held up a scribble of a familiar girl, standing on top of what looked like a giant snake dragon; with X-ed out eyes.

Percy snickered. "Too fat. And to short. But the face looks good." They broke out laughing. I picked up the boy and the arch again. I finally realized what they were talking about. It did look like Percy.

"Wait, this is you?" I asked him. He nodded, stifling his laughing under his hand for a few seconds. "You Jumped out of the gateway arch, I remember now. Mitch told me." I remembered.

"Right into the Mississippi river in Louisiana." He told me. And then he laughed at another crazy picture Annabeth had stuck in his face. Looking at the picture gave me wild ideas, but I never motioned any of them.

As we left the cave, we were careful to remove any evidence we had ever been there. We left all the papers where we found them and turned off all the lights. We closed all the doors and made sure we left nothing behind.

Going back to our cabins, we were silent. The moon lit up the forest faintly, and the whispers of the trees were fewer. On the way back, we found a big fat black dog lying lazily in the middle of a clearing. As we passed him, he turned to us and his pink tongue lolled out of the side of his mouth. He rolled over, got up, and followed us back to the commons area. When we got there, he barked, and slowly headed over to the second grouping of cabins. As he walked away, he stood up on his hind legs, and morphed into a human boy. He wore baggy clothes and looked to be about our age. He walked into the Hecate cabin. Figures any shape-shifters would be there. Magic and all that.

As I pulled on my pajamas, I noticed something I hadn't before. Forty or so little horse/fish were suspended from the ceiling, like a heard of Mythological creatures. As I looked closer, I saw they were bronze, and they looked like the most skilled artisan in the world had made them. They were delicate, and beautiful, and they gleamed in the faint light of the moon. A few dozen of the most beautiful creatures in the world.

"Where did you get those?" I asked, pointing up.

Percy looked up, and smiled. "Tyson made those." He told me. "My favorite baby brother."

"You have a brother?" I asked. "I thought you were an only child."

"On my mom's side, yes. But you see, Tyson is a Cyclopes. He's from dad's side. Our brother, not just mine."

I stared at him. "A Cyclops? You mean those are real too?" he nodded. "Like, work in the forges under the ocean, immune to fire, have only one eye type Cyclops?" he nodded again, but he seemed surprised that I knew this. He didn't push it.

"Most Cyclops are kids of Poseidon, so that would mean we had around a thousand half siblings. They would mostly be boys, very rare to get a female, but 'Welcome to this _ginormus_ family' all the same." He spread his arms and grinned. "Now go to sleep." He pleaded. "We need rest for tomorrow."

"But you were the one who dragged me out into the forest in the first place! I didn't quite want to go either! Now you got me hyperactive. Deal with it!" I told him. I bounced on my bunk to make a point. He just grumbled and got into bed, pulling the covers up over his ears.

I lay down and pulled the covers to my chin. I was soon asleep. I dreamed about scorpions and people falling from arches. And an unrecognizable couple of people, with dark hair, crowns, and a hazy pitchfork. The couple once or twice came into focus, but I never got a good look to tell me who they were. It frightened me, the mystery, and the familiarity, and the extreme sense of foreshadow.

"Let's go sleepy head. Wake up! Wake up! The conch horn is about to blow! Wake _up_!"

"Maybe so, but it hasn't blown yet." He pointed out, pulling his pillow over his ears.

I sat there, for five seconds, counting them off.

!

There it went. "Get out of bed! That was the conch!" I pulled the pillow off his head. "Get up, get up, get up!" I shouted into his surprised face and threw the pillow back at him. He stuck up his arm and it bounced right off.

He groaned and rolled over again. "Five more minutes. Go away. You're annoying."

I suddenly got a great idea. It was evil, yes, but I am not ashamed of my past. And if I'm desperate enough, I will resort to evil plotting. One, because it works, two, I'm an evil genius. And proud of it

I found a sheet under him, got a good grip, and pulled it just a little. He grunted and peered at me from a hole under the edge of his blanket. I dropped the sheet and took a step back, grinning like a maniac. He pulled the blanket over himself again.

"Hmm." I tried a different approach. I went around of the opposite edge of the bunk, he luckily had the middle bunk, if he didn't it wouldn't have even crossed my mind. I analyzed the way he had positioned himself on the bed. He was slightly more to one side of the bed than the other. Just enough to make it work. I grinned evilly to myself. He was about to find out just how annoying I could get.

I put my hands in the air, a few inches away from his back. I estimated the force necessary to pull this off, and took a deep breath. _Go!_

I pushed for all I was worth. And this time, it worked. Percy, with a yelp, went rolling over the edge of his bed onto the cold floor with a resounding, slightly muffled, but still very satisfying THUMP! I laughed. Percy stuck his head over the edge of the bed. His eyes were wide in shock and his hair was messy from bed head, and standing on end from the surprise. It pushed me over the edge, not literally, and I fell to the floor, doubled over with laughter.

Percy was too surprised to be angry, and when he did get angry, it was at himself for not getting up. I really was evil. I rolled on the floor, laughing hysterically.

"No need to prove me right." He muttered as he got up. "I'm up, so there. Happy?"

"Yep- I'm pretty- satisfied!" I managed to choke out between bouts of laughter. He pulled me up off the floor and pushed me onto my bed.

"Don't you ever do something like that again! That was so very much not cool. I've put up with you for barely a week, and already you fit the role of annoying little sister perfectly." He turned away and headed for his dresser, pulling off his shirt as he walked.

I stuck out my chin and turned to my dresser as well. I pulled out a black t-shirt. It was solid black, with white lettering, and orange and purple alternating shadows. It looks really cool. If you're not dyslexic. I'm told the shirt says "Nocturnal." And it has a picture of a stupid-looking bat. I pulled on a pair of black jeans and my green sneakers.

As I opened the door to go to breakfast, Annabeth was standing there, with a young girl in a green chitin and sandals. Her hair was amber, and her skin pale. She was smiling at something Annabeth had said before I opened the door. At the intrusion, they instinctively glanced around the cabin. They both blushed. Percy cleared his throat and pulled his shirt fully on. When the door had opened, he had been in the middle of putting it on. His jeans were a little baggy, leaving his blue boxers hanging some over the edge, exposed.

"Oops. Sorry Percy."

"Umm, it's okay. Nothing major. Umm," He blushed bright red as well." "At least it's not as bad as that other thing this morning." He assured me. "Um. Morning Annabeth, morning Juniper."

"Morning Percy." Annabeth said, trying to hold back her giggles. The other girl was not so good at a poker face. She giggled outright. I realized something about her face was wrong. She was blushing, but her cheeks were the color of grass, not pink. I found this creepy.

"Morning" I said to the girl. "I'm Alex. And you are…"

"Juniper. Grover's girlfriend. I came to ask Percy about him."

"Oh, why?" I turned to Percy, who had (behind the door) run a brush through his hair, and was straightening a baseball cap over it.

"The emotional link they share. It's a satyr thing. Is he alright?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes, he's okay. He left yesterday. He just needed to find some satyrs in Canada; he'll be back in a week or so. Try worrying then." He sighed and came out. He had a belt to keep his pants up, and his cap was slightly off to his left. He yanked the door shut and we walked up the hill to the dining pavilion.

When we got there, we got quite a few nervous stares. People were whispering about us or something, but there was a lot of quiet as Percy and I stepped out onto the floor of the dining pavilion. Conversations stopped or paused. I had no idea why until I stopped too.

I listened very hard. I could just hear the thing breathing. I looked up. Standing above us, eyes bright with anticipation, was a giant dog. She looked to be around the size of a large tank. Her breath smelled like sulfur, and straw. And something else I couldn't quite place. Honestly, I didn't want to know.

Percy saw me looking up and did the same thing. And then he did the last thing I would have done. He ran toward her leg. "Mrs. O'Leary!" he shouted with joy. I am quite positive, I was not the only one stunned by this new development. The large dog barked excitedly. The sound shook the ground. A few cereal bowls went vibrating across the tables and quite a few bowls broke loudly on the cement floor of the pavilion.

Percy hugged the giant monster abound one of her big, furry legs, and she barked again. "Hey girl, sorry I couldn't play with you for a while. I was busy." He patted her nose as he talked, and the large dog hummed like a cat's purr. Only rougher.

"Umm, you have a dog?" I was completely perplexed.

"Oh? Yes, yes I do. This is Mrs. O'Leary. My hellhound. I got her from Daedalus just before he died. Great guy. A little on the weird side, but nice. Her favorite game is "Get the Greek." It's fun, you want to play after breakfast? Maybe I can show you how to shadow-travel with her. It's awesome. You have to try it." he sat on the grass, petting Mrs. O'Leary.

Eeeeeew, gross. He was being covered in giant dog hair and slobber. "I'm in!" I announced. "But I want breakfast first."

I walked into the pavilion and sat down at the Poseidon table. I got a bowl of corn pops and I shoveled them into my mouth. I wanted to get out of here and go play with a big hellhound. That sounded like fun.

We stood in the fighting arena. I held a giant straw dummy in my arms. I heaved, and tossed it down the arena. "Get the Greek!" I shouted. Mrs. O'Leary barked as she ran down the rows of seats, chasing the dummy. She found it on the floor, behind a few big boxes. She came running for someone to throw it again. "I'm beat, sorry girl." I told her rubbing her nose. "Good dog though. Good getting the Greek." I praised her. She barked and lay down. Her haunches up the air and her nose feet from me.

I didn't pick up the dummy, my arms were too tired, and I felt like my hair was on fire. My feet felt like lead as I dragged them away. It was a hot summer day, I was burning up, and I'd already thrown it over thirty times. I went up to the lake, Percy stayed to play with the hellhound. I heard her barking, and felt the ground shake from ten meters away. I smiled at that.

I had always wanted a dog. I wanted a greyhound. Preferably a gray one. I liked how they were so sleek, and fast. Their skinny shape made me want to hug them forever. I had always thought that dogs were amazing. They weren't my favorite, which were horses. Or my second favorite, that was dolphins. I guess they were my third favorite. But I wanted one more than a horse or dolphin. They made better companions. Imagine walking down the street on a horse. That is a lot rarer than it should be. Or, better yet, a dolphin. I am absolutely positive that that would not work out.

But walking down the street with _any_ breed of dog won't get you much more than a few glances and "Oh my gosh, he's so cute/pretty!" here and there. I could live with that. Despite my loathing for attention.

But Percy had a hellhound. A _huge_ one. That was so not fair.

I looked down at the water beneath me as I sat next to the lake. A handful of curious faces peered up at me from the blue water.

I walked back to the Poseidon cabin. As soon as I was inside, I closed the door and shut the windows. I grabbed my toiletries and set them on the bed. I pulled my green towel out of the bottom drawer, grabbed my hairbrush, and put it all on the bed. I didn't want to be greasy much longer. I stuffed everything into my beach bag. I had nothing else to do, and all the other cabins had something else they just started. I figured I could use some cleanliness. I stepped out into the air, breathing it all in. my bag over my shoulder.

I took two steps with my eyes closed, when I ran into Helen. She seemed as surprised to see me as I was to see her. "What are you doing out here?" she demanded.

"I have nothing to do. You?" I returned.

"I just needed a bath." She admitted. "I haven't had a good shower in a while."

"Same here. I like dogs and all, but covered head to toe in slobber is a bit of a stretch." I said. She smiled and we walked together to the girls building. When we got there, we checked for any unwanted guests, and then snuck inside. The water helped more than I thought it would. It cleared my head, and gave me a moment to think.

I let down my water magic to clean myself off, and when I was done I focused on bringing it back. It worked. I was immediately dry. "Nice." I murmured.

"Well I don't have it so easy." Helen teased. "Could you give me a hand?"

"Sure!" I grabbed her hand. We laughed until I realized that it had worked. As soon as I touched her, she was completely dry. As there was no more water falling from the ceiling, when I let go, she was still dry. But it had been unexpected.

"Wow." She told me. "That was pretty cool." I looked at my hand. I agreed with her. "Good thing our cabins are together on this game." She laughed and we left the building feeling better.

That night was Capture the flag, and I was excited. Not necessarily in a good way.

"Alex, stop fidgeting. We'll do fine. Leave your shirt in one piece." It was good advice, but I still couldn't help picking at my shirt, and folding and unfolding the piece of paper in my hands. It was a note. A poem of sorts, written on a small piece of golden paper. It was written in loopy handwriting with a smiley face in one corner. It went a little something like this:

I see you, my heart beats, a drum in my chest.

You smile; it stops, and takes off yet again.

If you want to know who your admirer be,

Meet me after the game tonight, by the sea

It sounded corny, but I liked it.

It had to be an Apollo kid. No one else was the type to make up such a note. Or make it sound so much like a blind date. But I had other worries.

"Who is playing who?" I asked Percy.

"Athena vs. Ares. As per usual. With us, we have Apollo, Hermes, Hephaestus, Hades, most of the H names and a few minor gods' cabins. Ares has everyone else. Not to worry, Athena and her kids are great at getting the best fighters."

"Alright campers!" Chiron stood up at the head of the room by the big table. All conversation died down. "You know the rules! The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!" he spread his hands and the tables were immediately covered in armor etc.

I looked in astonishment at Percy. "No way am I going to be putting any of that on." I said.

"Well you have to wear it. If you don't want to get hurt too bad. At least put on the breastplate and get the sword. You have to fight at all, you'll need them. And you need to wear a blue plume helmet too. Or no one will know your side and everyone will attack you. Even our side."

He pulled on the larger green-tinted bronze breastplate and checked his watch. He got on a few other things; I had no idea what they were, and pulled on his helmet last. He took a deep breath, and pulled out his ballpoint pen. He looked at it and sighed. He uncapped it and it grew into the long bronze sword he had let me use to destroy the lawyer at the festival. He strapped it to his waist.

"What about a shield?" I asked. Sure that that was the only thing missing from his outfit.

He grinned and tapped his watch. "Already taken care of."

I of course didn't get it. I was new at this. But I really didn't see how a watch could be a shield. I guessed I would find out.

Percy showed me how to put on the breastplate. It was similar to his. Green-tinted bronze, scalloped like fish scales. On the front was a trident. I was proud to wear it. The only thing that really embarrassed me was the fact that it was shaped. It curved with my body, making it easy to move in, and comfortable, but making me blush and "advertising" more than I liked. I like loose shirts.

I pulled a shield over my arm. It was round and smooth, but it had a soft leather lining. The metal was bronze, and it too, had a trident. The shield was heavy though. My arm felt like fire if I held it up too long.

I picked up a sword too; this one looked more like one of my favorite kinds of pen. They had a point like a ballpoint, but if you pulled off the cap on the other side, there would be a thinner point. I looked at it. I uncapped the second end. The blade glowed faintly in the afternoon shadows.

"Cool." I muttered. Percy agreed with me.

"Blue team, fall in!" called Annabeth, waving her hand and motioning for us. We followed. As we followed, I held my helmet under my arm. I didn't much like it.

She told everyone what his or her position was. It all seemed to work out okay in my mind. Percy and I had border patrol. I would be farther out than he would be. Out into the woods. I wondered how well I would get through this.

When the conch horn blew, I wasn't initially surprised to see a bunch of kids running up screaming. I was scared when it finally registered that the entire Hecate cabin and half the Ares cabin was running at me. I hadn't expected so many. I don't exactly remember what happened next. It was mostly a blur, but somehow, a third of them were on the ground in a very short time. The rest, were staring at me in shock. The rest of the moment passed, and I found that stepping backwards out of the water, big mistake.

I hadn't even realized I was in the water, but it hit hard as soon as I wasn't.

Within seconds, my strength was gone. And I was a prisoner in my first game. They led me across, two Ares kids held me up out of the water, and put me down on the other side. I struggled, sure. I put up a great fight and kept up a steady string of curses and nonsense, but they seemed undeterred. They brought me back through their territory. Being led, I passed the flag. I memorized what I could. They brought me to a place near the flag. In a natural cave. They set me down in there, and one burly kid stood guard.

More, snored guard. But he was bulky, so I did not want to wake him. I sat there, fidgeting, waiting for some sign that I could re-join the game. After a few seconds, however, someone nudged snooze-boy.

"We need you over by Zeus's fist!" they murmured into his ear. "Quick! Forget the girl! We got to get that flag!"

Snooze-boy stood up, hit his head on the ceiling, muttered a low oath, and ran into the field. Alone.

"Huh?" I asked myself. Suddenly, someone had a hand over my mouth. I tried to yell, but the hand silenced me.

"Shhhhhh!" muttered a familiar voice. "Keep quiet or they'll hear you!" the hand disappeared.

"Annabeth?" I whispered. His suddenly appeared, with her hat poised above her head, as if she had just pulled it off. It was navy blue, with a big "Y" in the middle. Yankees.

"Yes, Alex, it's me." I stared at her hat. "Oh, this? Gift from mom." She explained. "Oh, common. We got to get out of here." I followed her away from the cave. We circled around the flag, hiding behind tree after tree. I found my cool sword on the ground a few feet away from the cave, dropped by the guard. We could hear voices, and the clang of metal against metal. We got close to the flag, keeping low, and ducking whenever the guards turned our way. Suddenly, out of the blue, there was a blade against my throat. I froze.

"Don't. Move." Came a slightly agitated voice. It was not hard to follow the orders. "What are you doing here?" Helen asked.

"Trying for the flag?" Annabeth suggested. Helen smiled at me.

"Hi, Alex. Hi Annabeth." The sword dropped. "May I join you?"

I grinned at her. "Sure! We could use some help, right Annabeth?" she nodded in assent.

"Alright, here's the new plan." Annabeth announced. She quickly and efficiently outlined her plans to get the guards away. Helen and she would distract the two of them, while I went for the flag in the middle. Most of the red team was at the creek or out in the woods. We were nearly alone.

We split up, going for our directions. Annabeth's plan was to whistle like a bird, and come running in two seconds later. While both guards were distracted, Helen would come in and knock one out, and they would together hold the second until I was successful in grabbing the flag.

I hid behind the flag, to take off running in the direction I was already facing as soon as I had a hold of it. Hiding was more exciting than I thought it would be. There were sounds everywhere. Metallic clangs, shouting and swearing, leathery thumps, splashing. I was so caught up in the sounds of battle around me, that I almost missed Annabeth's signal. Almost.

_Tweeeeeee! _Came the sound of a feminine whistle. I shook my head to dispel the other sounds. _Twee!_ I waited two seconds, she didn't disappoint. Into the clearing she dashed. In only a matter of seconds, she had guard number one in a headlock, the second guard ambling toward her, yelling.

Helen flashed into him, knocking him over. He tried to shout a curse, but she knocked him unconscious. I looked down at him. He was bulky, and somewhat cute, but not in a dating way.

She joined Annabeth in holding onto the first guard. She beckoned me forward and blocked a punch to her face. He struggled, but they had him down on the ground, his face full of dirt.

I grabbed the flag and took off running. Both girls dropped the guy and followed me. They soon caught up and started running slightly ahead, fighting off anyone who would attack. After only a few seconds though, the red people started cursing behind us. And in front. I was lucky that no one was anywhere near as good as Annabeth at fighting. I soon had a whole crowd of people surrounding me. Blues and reds. It was a great high.

Adrenaline pumping, I sprinted. Though not as fast as I was used to. Maybe the lack of water. Don't know. Didn't care. I was flying toward the creek, getting stronger as I ran. I was inches away, when I heard Helen cry out in pain. I hesitated, but only mentally, as I flew across the river, momentum carrying me ahead through the creek. The water made me stronger again. It felt good, but there was something off . . . I had no idea.

The flag rippled from the red I remembered, to green, with a large trident in the middle. The cheering was deafening. So was the cursing. I dropped the flag into someone's hands and ran back to find Helen. She was sitting on the ground, her face red, holding her breath. She bit down hard on a piece of her orange shirt. She was scooting to the creek, trying to get there without crying out again. She caught my gaze and smiled, winced, and then dropped her attention to the water. Annabeth and a few Apollo kids were with her, trying to help. She refused, washing out her wound with her left hand.

I was abruptly hauled up onto many arms, and carried away. Annabeth received the same problem. It was disturbing, to be so high. I wanted the water.

Chiron came galloping up, and yelled for silence. "Campers! Let us put our heroes down and give them some peace." Thank you. "We all know the outcome, but let me announce it now, for all to hear! The blue team wins! Hurray for blue! Now let us all go to bed and have a good night's sleep. Goodnight!" he called and turned to Helen. "As for you, let me have a look at that." She did, and I lost sight of her as more people came to shake my hand or pat me on the back.

"All right already!" I yelled over the babble. I pounded one of the hands carrying me. "Put me down!" they did, and I pushed my way through them. But there were too many people. It took me thirty seconds to push all the way through. As soon as I was free, someone caught my hand. I yanked, but they held on. I whirled to face them, and tripped on something. Seth caught me before I could scrape myself up. I blinked at him. "Thanks." I mumbled. I yanked myself free again, and stuck my feet in the stream. I sighed.

People bombarded me with questions, and I ignored them. It just felt good to have won at something. It was annoying after just a bit though, so I hauled myself up and walked away. They surrounded Annabeth next. I didn't pay attention to see her reaction.

I went to find Helen, and I did. I found her with Chiron and a few kids. She was sitting there, trying not to scream as they fed her Nectar and poked at her right arm. She looked up at my approach.

Her entire right arm was covered in blood, and a large gash had been opened just above the elbow.

"That doesn't look good. How did that happen?"

"Stupid Ares kid. Got me good. I'll make him pay for that. I have the perfect curse." She grinned to herself with some memory that I wasn't privy too. I didn't ask.

"Does it hurt?" I asked. "Are you okay? Do you need anything?" abruptly, I realized how insane I sounded. I shut my mouth. She laughed, and I grimaced.

"I'm okay. Really. It doesn't hurt so much. I'll be fine." She sighed, and I regretted speaking. "Why is everyone so overprotective?" she muttered under her breath. If I hadn't been so close, I might have missed it. As it was, I barely heard it. I could have ignored it, if the boy sitting next to her hadn't snickered as he poured some water over the arm.

"Sorry." I apologized, realizing too late that this was also, what she referred to as "So overprotective." Chagrin colored my cheeks faintly. I grinned at her. She returned it.

"Go. Have your night off. Sleep well and ignore the fans. I'll be fine!" she waved her hand at the forest in the general direction of the cabins. She winced and bit her lip as the kid beside her poked at her wound.

"Sorry," he murmured. She smiled anyway.

"Okay, I'll go sleep." I told her. "Goodnight!" I walked away. Leaving her by the creek and searching for a bed under my hands. I thought about my exiting new life, and imagined telling my mother all about it. I thought about how my not being there would change things for her and Mic. I was not there, yet would that be unhappy, or uneasy? What if the twins weren't happy with this? How would Katie feel if my next call . . . My thoughts faded into unconsciousness as I dragged my body into my cabin, suddenly tired. I think my head hit the pillow, I cannot be sure. I don't know why I was so tired. Maybe it was not the pillow. Maybe it was the floor. I don't know.


	7. I find a bomb, in the womb of a stranger

Well, it could have been worse. Not likely, but still. I could not imagine it being any weirder. Anyway . . . we tried, and that was what mattered most right? Wrong. We didnít know in time. Even if we had tried harder, we would have been too late. As it was, it was pretty damn hard. Actually, let me rephrase that; it was impossible. Even though I had recently learned that impossible was impossible.  
>I stick by my words. No matter what. At least I can say I did that as best I could. Though saving a life, I would have been better for it. It still makes me wonder, still haunts me at night.<br>It was scary enough, finding so many people wanting to talk to me. Congratulations, pats on the back . . . ìI hate you.î and ìIíll grind you to a pulp later. Just get the hell hound out of my way.î it got unnerving. But I took comfort in my new home, my new friends, and my new brother. But it all had to change when I was woken up at dawn, by he screams of a woman. Out of place in the world, I now lived in. Peaceful as it was.  
>Even that had to change eventually. Why now?<br>I sat up in bed, bolt upright. I glanced around myself. Percy sat up across the small isle between our beds. He looked at me with an expression of confusion that mimicked my own. He cocked his head in confusion. I shrugged.  
>We snuck out of our cabin in the thin light from the sun, as Apollo drove into view over the horizon. As we sneaked up the hill, I noticed a few other campers awakened by the screams. A few Demeter kids, Hestiaís kid, a few Athena kids, and quite a few Apollo kids. I found Helen surrounded by two of the Hermes kids with troublemaker faces. Malcolm waited behind them, impatient, it seemed. She snuck up beside Percy and me as we crawled up the hill.<br>ìWhat do you think it is?î I asked her, hoping someone behind us would fill it in if she pulled a blank. She didnít.  
>ìIt sounds like a woman. Pregnant to me. My mother has a few kids. She never screamed quite like that, but close enough. I wonder what she could be doing here. Maybe we will get to find out.î She mused some more and I tuned her out, listening to everyone and thing that surrounded me.<br>We got to the top of the hill, pausing to choose who would go in. many volunteered, until the scream echoed into the night again. Many pulled their hands down. Probably didnít want to get to close to that infernal shrieking. In the end, it was decided that Percy, Helen, An Apollo kid named Andrew, and I would go in and find out what was going on.

We tried to open the door silently, but I think it just wanted to have a bad day. So it creaked like crazy, as Percy nudged at it. We all flinched. From inside, a woman screamed and pulled us closer with curiosity. We all trudged inside.  
>I was amazed at how the woman looked. She was beautiful. She had pale skin, almost transparent from the light of the overhead light bulb. She was sprawled out on a rollaway bed I hadnít even guessed was there. The bed had blankets, pillows, and all sorts of things for keeping someone in comfort.<br>What drew me most were her eyes. They were hard, like stone. If she sat still, she would look like a statue. But her eyes, they pulled you in. They looked deep, into your soul and made you suffer through the most pleasant tortures. They were Helens eyes; I realized. They were just like Helens eyes. Only older. They had way more experience behind them, than the fourteen-year-old girl beside me. Too much. How old was she?  
>She looked no older than twenty, and her long, pale fingers were smooth and innocent as hands could look. She had long, pitch-black hair, braided with a golden crown of laurels. Her eyes were black, and they had tiny golden flecks. Her pallid skin shone in the light of morning. And her long, thin, fragile-looking fingers were grasping at Chironís steady arm. He sat beside her, in full horse form, and held her arm, patting it gently, trying to calm her. She shrieked again.<br>ìWho is she?î I demanded. ìWhy is she here? What is the problem?î ìWhat does her inhumane screaming mean?î Andrew asked absently. I glared at him from the corner of my eyes. I then turned back to the woman on the rollaway bed. I took her hand and tried to calm her. Trying was all I could do. Sweat poured from her face in beads bigger than I had ever seen before on anyone. She was breathing hard, and moaning or screaming when she could get it past her teeth. Her eyes were puffed up and swelling so, it looked like she was squinting at me.  
>Helen came forward and offered her name and a soothing hand. The woman took it and her breathing got a little easier. Helen looked worried. I could tell she saw the resemblance clearly.<br>That was it. They had the same eyes. And looked way too similar not to be creepy.  
>ìChiron, what is going on?î Percy demanded. ìWho is she and why is she here?î Percy looked like he was about to cry out his own cry of pain. His ears must have burst or something. I felt similar. ìHow do we help her?î was his next question. It almost surprised me, but I was quite preoccupied with the immediate problem of the screaming woman.<br>ìIím pregnant! You idiots! Isnít it obvious by now? Iím only eight months pregnant and I took a major chance at leaving my home and sisters! What would they think of me? I didnít love him. I did not want him! I did not want them to love me! They did anyway! They took me from the same body! I was helpless as they planted this horrible thing in my womb. Hiding from my sisters was the only thing I could think to do. Help me hide my unwelcome child from my father and my sisters. They would reject me within seconds. I would no longer be the oldest of the Hespereds; I would be an outcast, like Zoe Nightshade, my lost sister of long ago. I gaze up at the stars and wonder what it would be like if she had never joined Artimis for the hunt. Would we be five? Not four? Or three, no me. I would die right here if my sisters did not need so much. Being powerful has limits, I know this. But from now on, if I live that long, I will be better at using that power for good. And what we need, I will not be able to help them get if I am gone. So help me gods, I need your help!î as I watched her, it was clear to me that every word her like Hades. I am told Percy has experience with Hades, but I am not sure.  
>ìHave you considered abortion?î I tried, sticking my finger into the air and doing my best to smile encouragingly. ìIf you donít want it, you could get rid of it. We can do that you know. Or you could put it up for adoption. There is always someone out there would be willing to adopt an unwanted or unkeepable kid. Many people would probably love to take it. Need help?î ìI have never heard of such things! You would have me destroy a baby. An innocent little new soul that has not even been born yet? And adoption you say? Even if I did not want a child, I cannot give up on it! I cannot let him leave, I wonít! I need him! I just need your help keeping us safe until he is out! I do not wish to be exiled from my home; I just want to keep him safe. Can you oafs at least do that?î she glared at us as if we were the whole reason she was in this mess. I could feel the hostility on the back of my neck.<br>Wait. Werenít the Hespereds supposed to be peaceful and sweet? Not hotheaded and pissed? And why did she mention Zoe? Who was Zoe Nightshade? And something else hit me. Him? How would she know if it was male or female? I donít know if anyone else thought of that, but I didnít get a chance to ask. She started to scream then, breaking off all thought that was not about my aching ears. I think someone else joined the screaming, but it hurt too much to do anything but hold my ears.  
>As we fled, I felt winded, but I didnít know why. It felt like we lost a few seconds. Multiple times. And it looked like some things had changed instantaneously. Like the woman lying screaming on her side one second, and suddenly being on her back sprawled across the blankets gasping for air. The change had been subtle, but it had been enough to convince me that something weird was going on with her. I just couldnít make it make sense in my head. I decided to keep my mouth shut for a while while I tried to figure out what it could be.<br>As we walked down the hill, Helen and I exchanged a tense glance. I had a feeling we were thinking similarly. ìGreat minds think alike,î I muttered. She nodded and looked away. I thought harder.  
>Walking into our cabin, we still couldnít get away from the womanís inhuman screams. We tried all right. But it wouldnít get out of my head. It echoed and expanded, making my head hurt and keeping us under our pillows. I even tried to drown it out by jumping into the lake. No such luck. It stayed, splitting my ears as if I was still right next to her. And all throughout the day and for next week, it echoed across the valley. Making us all uncomfortable.<p>

Two weeks later, she gave birth. The child was big for a baby, and it seemed to keep getting bigger in my hands. He was a boy, a healthy and large boy. I helped him come out and showed him to his mother, the Hespereds.  
>ìGreat! Now that itís out, kill it. I canít have it and itís bound to take after its father. I thank you for your help, now Iíll be on my way.î And with that, she disappeared in a wave of illusion and the smell of brine.<br>I looked down at the baby in my arms, so young. He was beautiful. His hair was a nice sandy blond and his nose was fine and well shaped. His eyes were gold. A lovely color. ìHello, baby. Iím sorry about what your mother did to you. Leaving you here. I promise I will find you a home.î I held him close.  
>ìLet me see!î said Annabeth, coming up behind me. ìI want to see the little b-ì she stopped in her tracks. ìOh, no.î she held her hands out for the baby. ìNo. No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Not good.î She turned around and ran over to Chiron. ìThis is not good.î Chiron took one look and stepped back. ìYouíre right, itís not. Kill it somehow.î ìHow?î she asked him, looking in horror at the tiny child in her arms.<br>ìI donít care, get rid of it!î he turned to go. ìTell no one but the most important people and only cabin counselors. Keep it small, and confined.î 


End file.
